Archive for the ‘a. General News’ Category
In August Joyce will travel to Washington DC to give her deposition in the case against Ringling Brothers for its treatment of elephants. Preparations have taken literally months of work. Joyce is also likely to go back in October when the court case takes place. The traditional bullhook used to control an elephant in Thailand (Photo credit Robert Poole). ElephantVoices’ standpoint is that this instrument contributes to misery for elephants held captive, for with it elephants are trained and controlled.
Portable computers are vital for the work that Petter and I are doing, and my 6-year-old Compaq has needed to retire for some time! Several key functions does not work… The worst aspect of it is that the sound system has gone silent - which isn’t great for someone who works on elephant communication. A “cheap” dollar makes it sensible to buy a replacement when I am in the US on an elephant-related task in late August. We do understand that some of you may feel that computers are rather boring items compared to other field equipment, but without one I can’t do any field work and neither can I bring what I do to share with you when I am on lecture tours. We would be extremely grateful if you would be willing to contribute towards this resource. We’re happy that the numbers of visitors on our blog is steadily increasing - and any donation is an inspiration to continue what we do for elephants! Thank you for caring! Best wishes, Joyce
Hi all, I am back for another installment of elephant sounds 101 and we are still working our way through how elephants respond to predators. Since humans are the most dangerous predator an elephant has to face, I have been on the sharp end of some of these reactions, though these frightening assaults have almost all been in places other than Amboseli. If you visit the visual tactile database on our website, and search under the word “bunching”, you can read in more detail how after freezing and perhaps “commenting”, the first response to potential danger by members of a family group is to gather together or “bunch”. Once elephants have bunched together, older individuals at the fore and calves occupying the center, one or more larger individuals may charge the predator while emitting the trumpet blasts or roars that I have already described. Throughout a confrontation with a dangerous predator the bunched elephants may continue to vocalize with noisy, throaty, rolling rumbles, their heads raised, ears extended, temporal glands streaming and trunks reaching out to touch one another. These rumbles have a roaring quality and appear to have the effect of both intimidating the predator and calling in support from any more distant family members. I refer to the powerful noisy rumbles given in this context as roaring-rumbles. I recorded a lovely example of roaring rumbles in Amboseli one day when I happened to witness a lion pounce upon a year old elephant calf. The calf screamed, which prompted an immediate response from its mother and other allies, who rushed to the calves side, and confronted the lion with a series of roaring-rumbles. The calls attracted the attention of other family members who responded by calling and arriving at the scene minutes later.
For those of you who just happen to be in Paris this summer you may want to stop by the Musee du Jeu de Paume to listen to elephants recorded in Amboseli. On 1 July artists Virginie Yassef and her colleague Julien Bismuth open an exhibition of their work, this time revolving around a sculpture of an elephant. ElephantVoices has contributed a 33 minute elephant soundscape to accompany the exhibition. The artwork of Virginie and her colleagues starts from a concrete situation or problem, be it political or environmental. The result may be more abstract, poetic, or quiet, but seeks to work back towards the issue or concern. For Virginie and Julien elephants are animals that continue to exert a sense of wonder, the same sort of wonder you feel as a child when you first see such an otherworldy creature. The elephant sculpture and its accompaniments are meant as an hommage to elephants - to sensitize the audience to both their marvellous qualities, and of the natural world in general, and of their increasingly fragile and threatened state. Although collaborating with a Parisan sculptor may seem a long way from elephant conservation - we believe that protecting elephants is as dependent on public awareness as it is on anti-poaching. In Paris the voices of Ella and her family will help to secure a future for elephants by inspiring wonder in the intelligence, complexity and voices of their kind. The following description accompanies the elephant soundscape:In the late afternoon of 3 April 1999, surrounded by her large family, Ella gave birth to a male calf. Dr. Joyce Poole photographed the birth and recorded the cacophony of excited calls made by Ella’s family in first few hours and days of the calf’s life. The sounds presented here were recorded in the first two hours following the calf’s birth, while Ella and her eldest daughter, Emma, stood just meters from the research vehicle. The majority of calls are low rumbling sounds made to reassure the newborn. But there are also more excited rumbles as other members of the family return from feeding and playing to greet Ella and her new calf. Interspersed with the rumbles are more distant trumpets of playing elephants and the short sequence of trumpets by an alarmed calf who suddenly finds himself alone and comes running to his mother’s side. A newborn attracts intense interest from everyone in an elephant family, especially from juvenile females, who want to practice their care taking skills. Ella gently pushes them away, causing screams of protest followed by rumbles of reconciliation between Ella and the youngsters’ mothers. The bonds between members of this elephant family and the intense emotions felt are expressed in the tone and tempo of their calling.
Dear friends, I just received an email outlining the plight of wildlife in Zimbabwe. I am going to post it here in case any of you can follow up. I am trying to find out where you can send donations…but for now I have only an email or website. I just cut and pasted so the photos didn’t come through…. “ZIMBABWE CONSERVATION TASK FORCE 15th June 2008 As the economic situation rapidly deteriorates in Zimbabwe, we are receiving reports that poaching is escalating at an alarming rate. Five white rhino have recently been killed by poachers. 3, including a baby, were shot in the Chivero National Park. Prior to this, the rhino population in Chivero has always been very well protected and these are the first rhino that have ever been killed in this area. The other 2 were also shot in a National Park but we have not yet confirmed the exact location. We are receiving reports that elephants are being shot regularly in the Kariba area. One informant reported that he personally knows of 18 that have been shot this year. A fortnight ago, poachers shot a zebra and 3 cows at Imire Safari Ranch. The number of animals caught in wire snares is increasing and there is a shortage of the drug needed to tranquilize the animals in order to remove the snares. Many animals are therefore dying an agonizing, lingering death. Some elephants that are part of the Presidential Herd in Hwange have been sighted with wire snares on them. As the tranquilizer is not readily available, it is not possible to remove the snares and some of these elephants are now presumed dead. In 2005, we raised funds to purchase 12 vials of M99, the drug required to tranquilize the larger animals. One vial is sufficient to tranquilize approximately 4 elephants or possibly 8 buffalo. Thanks to the people and organizations who assisted us with funds, numerous animals of all species have been saved but our supplies are now depleted. These are photos of a small selection of the snare removals that have been carried out using this drug. SNARE REMOVED FROM A ZEBRA SNARE REMOVED FROM A BUFFALO SNARE REMOVED FROM AN ELEPHANT The drug, which is not available in Zimbabwe, costs R2 200 or USD300 per vial and we are urgently appealing for assistance in replenishing our stocks. If anyone is able to help, please contact us - contact details below. Johnny Rodrigues
Hi again, I apologize for the long gap in elephants sounds. I got to a point where I was forced to make a whole series of new spectrograms for the work we’re doing toward an online database of elephant calls, in addition to working with a continues flow of issues related to elephant conservation and welfare. The spectrograms of some of the rarer calls had not yet been uploaded to our current offline database and many needed first to be made. I had to make over 200 of them and each one is quite time consuming. The last time I wrote about how elephants use sound to intimidate predators I mentioned what I call a trumpet blast. In addition, they have a couple of other powerful calls in their bag of frightening tricks! The roars elephants produce when they are scaring off lions are deafening! One of the early elephant scientists, Sylvia Sykes commented that these sounds could put “fear in the hearts of men.” Indeed they can! I was out with the EB family one day when Enid came upon a pride of lions resting under a small Acacia. With one incredible roar from her the lions ran off. When you listen to the sound she made notice how Enid begins to rumble and then takes a deep breath before roaring at the lions. Notice, too, that after she inhales she starts with a short rumble, then roars and then ends again with a rumble. We call this type of concantenated call a rumble-roar-rumble. Can you hear the difference between the trumpet blast and the roar? Enid roars at a group of lions resting under an Acacia: Thank you, Michelle P and Anna M, for your continued support! And thank you Nathalia! Your support is very much appreciated. Petter and I wish you all a great weekend!
Elephants use a variety of techniques when they are confronted by predators. They may try intimidation tactics, including highly effective (and noisy) mobbing, or they may bunch together and take evasive action. Although much has been said about the complex defensive behaviour of elephants, very little has been written about the variety of sounds they produce in these situations, which may include a variety of rumbles, snorts, trumpets, and roars. Our observations indicate that their particular response to predators is communicated, in part, via fine-tuned signaling.When a family group is exposed to an unusual or disturbing situation, the elephants usually freeze (hold stock-still) and listen to first assess how dangerous the situation is. This behavior may follow a sharp snort or snort-rumble followed by soft, medium length rumbles by one or more individuals. As the elephants call they continue to stand alert, listening and looking. Anthing that alarms an elephant may elicit this kind of behavior and calling pattern. For instance, elephants may call after being frightened by an unintended noise in the research vehicle, a helicopter passing overhead, the discovery of Maasai herdsmen in the area, or the roaring sounds of lions. Elephants may also give similar sounding calling in the context of a new situation, such as the arrival of a known research vehicle. And this form of soft rumbling may also be heard when a disturbing event occurs in the family, such as aggression directed at a family member. It seems as if the elephants use these calls to draw attention to, or comment upon, an unusual or disturbing event. Here are two examples: B2802022 C3002923 Have a great weekend!
We would like to inform all visitors to our blog that we will be in California on a fundraising trip later this year. We plan to be in the San Francisco from 7 to 14 November and in Los Angeles 14 - 20 November. We are already busy planning various events. If you are from California we would certainly be grateful for ideas or input regarding our visit - and you can also send an email to us if you want to be invited to any of the events being arranged. Our research on elephant cognition and communication, our scientific and popular publications, our advocacy work for elephants, our website updates are all dependent on individuals like you. Our blog is just a tiny window into the work we do and we encourage you to visit our website, www.ElephantVoices.org to get a better picture. To continue to protect elephants we need your support. Best wishes, Petter and Joyce
Hi all, I apologize that we have been so quiet for so long. We are working on a major update for our website as well as on several other projects with deadlines, and these activities have limited our ability to focus on our blog. In addition we have had family visiting from around the world. The update on our website will include a long awaited database of elephant calls and we have much to do to prepare the sounds and text for the database. I thought that I could bring you along with me as I work – sharing examples of the calls as I prepare the files. Elephant rumbles are very low frequency calls and I originally saved individual calls at a low sample rate. While this is perfect for analysis, to make the MP3 files necessary for the database and for sharing with you I need to go back the original recordings. This is quite a time consuming job – but it must be done! On WildlifeDirect I am restricted for the time being to a maximum file size of 300 KB – and that really limits what we can share with you – but I will do my best. Let me start by introducing you to some different overall call types before I get into the calls African elephants produce in specific behavioral contexts. Listen to the different call types. Notice that elephants sometimes combine call types - as for instance a bark and a rumble, or a rumble and a roar: Then there are learned calls which I will come back to later.
Hi all, We apologise for the silence. It has been a very busy time for us. There has been so much to follow up on with the improvements we are planning on our website and I have been working on a couple of papers on elephant cognitive behavior among other tasks. Before moving on to another topic I had wanted to come back to a comment that I made in one of our recent postings about there being subtle and not so subtle differences in Asian and African elephant behavior. I want to mention one of the “not so subtle” differences in this posting. Both species display extraordinary teamwork, especially when defending their families, but the specific tactics may be different. I have been charged by African elephants many times and I have even had my car tusked by an African elephant or two. I have had elephants explore my car with their feet (once even stepping on the front bumper so that the car was shaking) but I have never had an African elephant kick the car with its front feet! When Petter and I were taken around Sri Lanka by Lalith Seneviratne we had the good fortune to visit Minneriya N.P., which was a highlight from many perspectives. While we were there we met a very kali (fierce in Kiswahili) adult female who just wanted to get rid of everyone. To be honest, the other elephants she was with didn’t pay her too much attention, but the tourists did. She had cars fleeing in all directions! We weren’t so easily frightened by her, though. So she threatened us repeatedly, rumbling, flapping her ears vigourously, and thumping the ground with her trunk. And finally she proceeded to kick Lalith’s car a couple of times - breaking the side light. Only then did the other adult female in her group come to join her. I had the feeling at the time that she was unusually disturbed and wondered what experiences with people had led her to behave in this way.
Ester of Sweetwaters, whom Paula will remember, had tusks…… We have had some problems with our media files since WD had a serious hick-up some time ago - hopefully the link above works for you. And because of changes on WD our previous sound-links are not working. We will look into this as soon as possible. |
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Dear All,
