The elephant below doesn't have sunken temples. She is 51 years old and is named Lucky. The elephant at the top is named Chia, and she has sunken temples. She is the mother of Hanza,(who died from the herpes virus), and has since miscarried. Do you know how old she is?
On another blog I have been told that sunken temples are not necessarily an indication of age.
Have you ever seen a young [or youngish] elephant with sunken temples?
The only time I have seen younger elephants with sunken temples were sick and emaciated.
Radar, both Chia above and Califa who is pictured in a couple of threads below have sunken temples. Would you say they are sick and emaciated? How about Lucky, Steve, with non sunken temples. Is she a "young or (youngish)" elephant?
Monday, February 28, 2011
For Steve and Radar--Sunken temples
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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4 comments:
I think that we're starting to split hairs about the degree of sunkeness!!!
Steve,
That's no splitting hairs, that's the point. Sunken temples by themselves are no indication of age or condition. Severely sunken temples along with ribs showing, high backbone, prominent hips, etc., yes. But alone, like a high back bone, no. If you look closely sunken temples will often come with a small roundish face(sometimes with a prominent jaw and no chin), and thin whip like trunk, not wide at the base tapering, but a uniform width it's whole length. A "pin head" is an adequate way to describe it.
What's sunken? More sunken then the one it is standing by? Often over the years I have had folks look at the elephants and ask, "is that one old" because her temples are more sunken, or "is she sick?" I have also been at zoo's and other facilities and over heard the same thing. Sunken temple's indicates nothing but conformation, unless it is present with a number of other issues. Zebras are pretty standard, as are giraffe, deer, rhino's etc. etc. Why is the look of an elephants so inconsistent. Is there a bad gene connected with a conformation? There is in horse's and other animals. Would many have died naturally as a natural effect of a defective gene, and in captivity we take great care of them, subjecting them to later problems that they may not have faced?
Wade
What is sunken? Yes, probably more sunken than the one standing beside it. That's why I stirred up this subject again. To try to get some definitions and some answers.
I'm appreciative of Glenn's input. Anyone else got any thoughts?
I agree with your thoughts about bad genes.
Steve,
Just wait. I was waiting for you to "stir it up again," so that I could throw "paralyzed beaks"(John Milton quote, not mine) back into the fire along with it. If you recall that was dropped like a hot potato, now matter how hard I tried. I have been sitting on the Perth elephant deal for quite some time. Echoing Glenn's insight, and the Perth article about the euthanized elephants trunk, Liz also had a paralyzed trunk. While not at all disregarding trauma as has been suggested, I have noted a "conformation" that seems to be attached to the paralyzed trunk, regardless of who owns it, where it came from, or what it ate and drank in it's life time.
Wade
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