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Egypt	When was the Six Day War?	1967	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	What religions has Egypt outlawed?	All but Christianity, Islam, and Judaism	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam 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Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	What religions has Egypt outlawed?	all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam 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Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	What is the poulation of Egypt?	more than 78 million	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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A. Wallis Budge DjVu
Egypt	What is the poulation of Egypt?	78 million people	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	Why does most of Egypt's population live near the Nile?	the only arable agricultural land is found there,	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia Levant Pharaoh Hatshepsut Thutmose III Akhenaten Nefertiti Tutankhamun Ramesses II monotheism Atenism Ancient Libya Kush Assyria Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination Nectanebo II Ptolemaic Egypt Aegyptus (Roman province) Aegyptus (Roman province)#Byzantine Egypt Saint Mark the Evangelist Diocletian Roman Empire Byzantine Empire New Testament Council of Chalcedon Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Aegyptus (Roman province)#Persian and Arab conquests Muslim conquest of Egypt Muslim Arabs Sunni Islam Coptic Christianity Sufism Islamic Caliphate History of Arab Egypt Fatimid Ayyubid dynasty Mamluk Turkish people Circassians History of Ottoman Egypt Ottoman Turks Muhammad Ali of Egypt Cairo Citadel French Invasion of Egypt Napoleon I of France French Revolution self-governance Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali's seizure of power viceroy Isma'il Pasha Suez Canal United Kingdom Scramble for Africa Ottoman Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	Why does most of Egypt's population live near the Nile?	The only arable agricultural land is found there	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Egypt	Are there a large number of Jews living in Egypt today?	no	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam 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Egypt	Are there a large number of Jews living in Egypt today?	No	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia Levant Pharaoh Hatshepsut Thutmose III Akhenaten Nefertiti Tutankhamun Ramesses II monotheism Atenism Ancient Libya Kush Assyria Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination Nectanebo II Ptolemaic Egypt Aegyptus (Roman province) Aegyptus (Roman province)#Byzantine Egypt Saint Mark the Evangelist Diocletian Roman Empire Byzantine Empire New Testament Council of Chalcedon Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Aegyptus (Roman province)#Persian and Arab conquests Muslim conquest of Egypt Muslim Arabs Sunni Islam Coptic Christianity Sufism Islamic Caliphate History of Arab Egypt Fatimid Ayyubid dynasty Mamluk Turkish people Circassians History of Ottoman Egypt Ottoman Turks Muhammad Ali of Egypt Cairo Citadel French Invasion of Egypt Napoleon I of France French Revolution self-governance Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali's seizure of power viceroy Isma'il Pasha Suez Canal United Kingdom Scramble for Africa Ottoman Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	During what period was Akhenaten a Pharaoh?	The New Kingdom (c.1550−1070 BC)	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia Levant Pharaoh Hatshepsut Thutmose III Akhenaten Nefertiti Tutankhamun Ramesses II monotheism Atenism Ancient Libya Kush Assyria Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination Nectanebo II Ptolemaic Egypt Aegyptus (Roman province) Aegyptus (Roman province)#Byzantine Egypt Saint Mark the Evangelist Diocletian Roman Empire Byzantine Empire New Testament Council of Chalcedon Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Aegyptus (Roman province)#Persian and Arab conquests Muslim conquest of Egypt Muslim Arabs Sunni Islam Coptic Christianity Sufism Islamic Caliphate History of Arab Egypt Fatimid Ayyubid dynasty Mamluk Turkish people Circassians History of Ottoman Egypt Ottoman Turks Muhammad Ali of Egypt Cairo Citadel French Invasion of Egypt Napoleon I of France French Revolution self-governance Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali's seizure of power viceroy Isma'il Pasha Suez Canal United Kingdom Scramble for Africa Ottoman Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Ancient Egypt Age of Enlightenment Ali Mubarak Egyptology Suyuti Maqrizi History of ancient Egypt Egyptian language Ancient Egyptian architecture Muhammad Abduh Qasim Amin Salama Moussa Taha Hussein Mahmoud Mokhtar liberalism secularism Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Thebes, Egypt Ramose Deir el-Madinah Pharaoh Cairo Opera House Cairo International Film Festival Persian Gulf Arab States Lebanon Omar Sharif Literature Arabic literature Zaynab (novel) Muhammad Husayn Haykal Egyptian Arabic Naguib Mahfouz Nobel Prize in Literature Nawal El Saadawi feminism activism Alifa Rifaat literary genre Salah Jaheen Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi Kom Ombo Music of Egypt Ancient Egypt ney oud Percussion Sayed Darwish Umm Kulthum Mohammed Abdel Wahab Abdel Halim Hafez Amr Diab Mawlid Ramadan Sham El Nessim Coptic language Egyptian calendar Paremoude Pashons Easter Cairo International Stadium 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) national sport Al-Ahly El Zamalek African Cup of Nations FIFA World Cup 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A. Wallis Budge DjVu
Egypt	During what period was Akhenaten a Pharaoh?	The New Kingdom	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam 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Egypt	Is Egypt in Asia?	No.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Ancient Egypt Age of Enlightenment Ali Mubarak Egyptology Suyuti Maqrizi History of ancient Egypt Egyptian language Ancient Egyptian architecture Muhammad Abduh Qasim Amin Salama Moussa Taha Hussein Mahmoud Mokhtar liberalism secularism Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Thebes, Egypt Ramose Deir el-Madinah Pharaoh Cairo Opera House Cairo International Film Festival Persian Gulf Arab States Lebanon Omar Sharif Literature Arabic literature Zaynab (novel) Muhammad Husayn Haykal Egyptian Arabic Naguib Mahfouz Nobel Prize in Literature Nawal El Saadawi feminism activism Alifa Rifaat literary genre Salah Jaheen Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi Kom Ombo Music of Egypt Ancient Egypt ney oud Percussion Sayed Darwish Umm Kulthum Mohammed Abdel Wahab Abdel Halim Hafez Amr Diab Mawlid Ramadan Sham El Nessim Coptic language Egyptian calendar Paremoude Pashons Easter Cairo International Stadium 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) national sport Al-Ahly El Zamalek African Cup of Nations FIFA World Cup 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A. Wallis Budge DjVu
Egypt	Does Egypt receive the least rainfall in the world?	Yes.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam 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Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	Does Egypt receive the least rainfall in the world?	Yes	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian 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Egypt	Does Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines?	Yes.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Egypt	Does Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines?	Yes	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Egypt	Since when has Egypt been a republic?	June 18 1953.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Egypt	Since when has Egypt been a republic?	June 18 1953	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam 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Egypt	When were the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza built?	During the Old Kingdom.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia Levant Pharaoh Hatshepsut Thutmose III Akhenaten Nefertiti Tutankhamun Ramesses II monotheism Atenism Ancient Libya Kush Assyria Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination Nectanebo II Ptolemaic Egypt Aegyptus (Roman province) Aegyptus (Roman province)#Byzantine Egypt Saint Mark the Evangelist Diocletian Roman Empire Byzantine Empire New Testament Council of Chalcedon Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Aegyptus (Roman province)#Persian and Arab conquests Muslim conquest of Egypt Muslim Arabs Sunni Islam Coptic Christianity Sufism Islamic Caliphate History of Arab Egypt Fatimid Ayyubid dynasty Mamluk Turkish people Circassians History of Ottoman Egypt Ottoman Turks Muhammad Ali of Egypt Cairo Citadel French Invasion of Egypt Napoleon I of France French Revolution self-governance Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali's seizure of power viceroy Isma'il Pasha Suez Canal United Kingdom Scramble for Africa Ottoman Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	When were the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza built?	During the Old Kingdom	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Egypt	What countries border Egypt?	Libya, Sudan, the Gaza Strip and Israel.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Egypt	What countries border Egypt?	Libya, Sudan, the Gaza Strip and Israel	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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A. Wallis Budge DjVu
Egypt	What is the estimated population of Egypt?	More than 78 million.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia Levant Pharaoh Hatshepsut Thutmose III Akhenaten Nefertiti Tutankhamun Ramesses II monotheism Atenism Ancient Libya Kush Assyria Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination Nectanebo II Ptolemaic Egypt Aegyptus (Roman province) Aegyptus (Roman province)#Byzantine Egypt Saint Mark the Evangelist Diocletian Roman Empire Byzantine Empire New Testament Council of Chalcedon Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Aegyptus (Roman province)#Persian and Arab conquests Muslim conquest of Egypt Muslim Arabs Sunni Islam Coptic Christianity Sufism Islamic Caliphate History of Arab Egypt Fatimid Ayyubid dynasty Mamluk Turkish people Circassians History of Ottoman Egypt Ottoman Turks Muhammad Ali of Egypt Cairo Citadel French Invasion of Egypt Napoleon I of France French Revolution self-governance Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali's seizure of power viceroy Isma'il Pasha Suez Canal United Kingdom Scramble for Africa Ottoman Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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A. Wallis Budge DjVu
Egypt	What is the estimated population of Egypt?	78 million	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia Levant Pharaoh Hatshepsut Thutmose III Akhenaten Nefertiti Tutankhamun Ramesses II monotheism Atenism Ancient Libya Kush Assyria Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination Nectanebo II Ptolemaic Egypt Aegyptus (Roman province) Aegyptus (Roman province)#Byzantine Egypt Saint Mark the Evangelist Diocletian Roman Empire Byzantine Empire New Testament Council of Chalcedon Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Aegyptus (Roman province)#Persian and Arab conquests Muslim conquest of Egypt Muslim Arabs Sunni Islam Coptic Christianity Sufism Islamic Caliphate History of Arab Egypt Fatimid Ayyubid dynasty Mamluk Turkish people Circassians History of Ottoman Egypt Ottoman Turks Muhammad Ali of Egypt Cairo Citadel French Invasion of Egypt Napoleon I of France French Revolution self-governance Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali's seizure of power viceroy Isma'il Pasha Suez Canal United Kingdom Scramble for Africa Ottoman Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	Does snow fall in Egypt?	Yes.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	Does snow fall in Egypt?	Yes	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew language Latin ancient Greek Copt Late Egyptian Egyptian language Egyptian soul Ptah Memphis, Egypt Strabo folk etymology Nile River Nile Valley Paleolithic Petroglyph Nile 10th millennium BC hunter-gatherer fishing cereal culture Sahara agriculture Economic system society Neolithic Predynastic Egypt Upper and Lower Egypt Badarian Naqada Ancient Egypt Egyptian hieroglyphs Naqada Before Christ Menes List of Egyptian dynasties Egyptians Coptic language Culture of Egypt Ancient Egyptian religion Art of Ancient Egypt Egyptian language Protodynastic Period of Egypt Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids Third dynasty of Egypt pyramid of Djoser Fourth dynasty of Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Giza pyramid complex Old Kingdom First Intermediate Period of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Amenemhat III Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Semitic Hyksos Avaris Ahmose I Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt New Kingdom Power in international relations Jebel Barkal Nubia 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	When did organized agriculture appear in the Nile Valley?	6000 BC.	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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Empire World War I protectorate Khedive Abbas II Husayn Kamil Sultan of Egypt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Saad Zaghlul Dinshaway Incident British Empire Saad Zaghlul Wafd Party Legislative Assembly Malta March 8 1919 Egyptian revolution of 1919 February 22 1922 1923 Constitution of Egypt Parliamentary system Prime Minister of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 coup d'Ã©tat Egyptian Revolution of 1952 Free Officers Movement Farouk of Egypt Fuad II of Egypt Cairo Africa Middle East Cairo Opera House 18 June 1953 Muhammad Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser house arrest Political power United Kingdom June 18 1956 nationalization Suez Canal July 26 1956 Suez Crisis Six Day War Israel Sinai Anwar Sadat Cold War Soviet Union United States Infitah Yom Kippur War Golan Heights US USSR Ceasefire Yom Kippur war Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Arab world Hosni Mubarak Kifaya democracy civil liberties Mahmoud Mokhtar Cairo University Ancient Egypt History of Egypt Culture of Egypt Egyptians Christianity Islam Arabic language Egyptian Arabic collective identity nationalism Pharaonism Arab nationalism pan-Arabism Islamism Egyptians Arab Sati' al-Husri Arab League University of Oxford Gamal Abdel Nasser Zionism Syria United Arab Republic Six-Day War Anwar Al Sadat Israel 1958 Islamic countries Hindustan Times Imbaba Arabian Gulf Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass Sub-Saharan Africa Osama Anwar Okasha Leila Ahmed 18 June 1953 Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt October 14 1981 Anwar Sadat National Democratic Party (Egypt) Heads of government of Egypt Ahmed Nazif 9 July 2004 Atef Ebeid Multi-party system semi-presidential system Prime Minister of Egypt Egyptian presidential election, 2005 Free Officers Movement Ayman Nour March 27 2006 The Christian Science Monitor May 26, 2005 democratization San Francisco Chronicle September 13 2005 December 5 2006 March 19 2007 BBC constitutional amendment Kifaya Hosni Mubarak Amnesty International Human Rights Watch Hosni Mubarak Kifaya Christian Christianity Freedom House political rights civil liberties Freedom House 2005-12-16 Freedom in the World 2006 List of indices of freedom Amnesty International torture War on Terror Anti-terrorism legislation bbc.co.uk 4-11 bbc.co.uk 4-13 human rights in Egypt United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 3 2003 December 5 2006 Judaism Egyptian Identification Card Controversy population size Africa Middle East Cairo Islam Sociocultural evolution Headquarters of the Arab League Cairo Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa Israel Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Israeli-Palestinian conflict Saudi Arabia Gulf States Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali United Nations Luxor governorate muhafazah markaz Al Iskandariyah Governorate Alexandria Aswan Governorate Aswan Asyut Governorate Asyut Al Buhayrah Governorate Damanhur Bani Suwayf Governorate Beni Suef Al Qahirah Governorate Cairo Ad Daqahliyah Governorate Mansura Domyat Governorate Damietta Al Fayyum Governorate 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Egypt	When did organized agriculture appear in the Nile Valley?	About 6000 BC	data/set2/a6	Egypt Egypt (Egyptian: Kemet; Coptic: KÄ«mi; ; Egyptian Arabic: ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East. One of the ancient Egyptian names of the country, Kemet ( ), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" ( ), of the desert. The name is realized as and in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as ( ). Another name was "land of the riverbank". The names of Upper and Lower Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw ( ) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew ( ) "northland", respectively. , the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ), is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ( ), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005 The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land". The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word derived from the ancient Greek word AÃgyptos ( ). The adjective aigÃ½pti, aigÃ½ptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as , back formed into , whence English Copt. The term is derived from Late Egyptian Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hat-ka-Ptah ( ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo provided a folk etymology according to which AÃgyptos ( ) had evolved as a compound from ( ), meaning "below the Aegean". The Nile River in Egypt The Nile has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the Paleolithic era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Midant-Reynes, BÃ©atrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King Menes, giving rise to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptians subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (Coptic: kÄ«mi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c.2700â2200 BC., famous for its many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, built during the Old Kingdom, are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes. The New Kingdom (c.1550â1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Jebel Barkal in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first known self-conscious expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country. First built in the third or fourth century AD, the Hanging Church is Cairo's most famous Coptic church. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks and Romans, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established. Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39 The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was Sunni. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140 Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Mosque of Mohamed Ali built in the early nineteenth century within the Cairo Citadel. The brief French Invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the French Revolution and had a chance to exercise self-governance. Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 39 A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) taking control of Egypt. He was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor Isma'il Pasha. Following the completion of the Suez Canal by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83 The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. As a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive Abbas II, replacing him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who was appointed Sultan. Public riot during the 1919 Revolution sparked by the British exile of nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul.Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The Dinshaway Incident prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on February 22, 1922. Jankowski, op cit., p. 112 The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'Ã©tat known as the 1952 Revolution. The officers, known as the Free Officers Movement, forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad. View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. On June 18 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser the real architect of the 1952 movement and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the United Kingdom on June 18 1956. His nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 26 1956 prompted the 1956 Suez Crisis. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the US and the USSR intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the October War presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. Vatikiotis, p. 443 A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to democracy and greater civil liberties. Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919-1928, Cairo University. The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Christianity and Islam; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary. Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension Pharaonism, secular Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms: In 1931, following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99 The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. Jankowski, "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism," p. 246 Nevertheless, a year after the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo, Oxford University historian H. S. Deighton was still writing: It was not until the Nasser era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. "Before Nasser, Egypt, which had been ruled by Britain since 1882, was more in favor of territorial, Egyptian nationalism and distant from the pan-Arab ideology. Egyptians generally did not identify themselves as Arabs, and it is revealing that when the Egyptian nationalist leader [Saad Zaghlul] met the Arab delegates at Versailles in 1918, he insisted that their struggles for statehood were not connected, claiming that the problem of Egypt was an Egyptian problem and not an Arab one." Makropoulou, Ifigenia. Pan - Arabism: What Destroyed the Ideology of Arab Nationalism?. Hellenic Center for European Studies. January 15, 2007. usually articulated vis-Ã -vis Zionism in the neighboring Jewish state. For a while Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Dawisha, p. 237 Nasser's successor Sadat, both by policy and through his peace initiative with Israel, revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Dawisha, pp. 264-65, 267 Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains: Egyptian Flag Until 1958. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim." In Egypt, India is Big B!. Hindustan Times. December 25, 2006. In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of Imbaba to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance upon hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Ragab, Ahmed. El-Masry el-Yom Newspaper. "What is the definition of 'Arab Nationalism': Question at a bus stop in Imbaba". May 21, 2007. Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis would at least respect Egyptians. Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass. In an audio interview on Egypt's links with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Hawass believes that "even today Egyptians are Egyptians. It really doesn't mean that because we speak Arabic that we can be Arabs. We are...really, I feel personally that we are related even today to the Pharaohs." , popular writer Osama Anwar Okasha, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor Leila Ahmed, Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss An Interculturalist in Cairo. InterCultures Magazine. January 2007. , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. Kimit Sagi We are Egyptians, not Arabs. ArabicNews.com. 11/06.2003. Ghobrial, Kamal. Egypt, the Arabs and Arabism. el-Ahali. August 31-September 6, 2005. Said Habeeb's Masreyat. Egyptian national group This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, Egyptian people section from Arab.Net Princeton Alumni Weekly such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be." Review by Michelle Fram Cohen. The Atlasphere. Jan. 17, 2005. Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Egypt has been a republic since June 18 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 July 2004, following the resignation of Dr. Atef Ebeid from his office. Although power is ostensibly organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." Business TodayEGYPT. Mubarak throws presidential race wide open. March 2005. However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Lavin, Abigail. Democracy on the Nile: The story of Ayman Nour and Egypt's problematic attempt at free elections. March 27, 2006. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence. Christian Science Monitor. May 26, 2005. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the âconviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.â United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour. U.S. Department of State, Published December 24, 2005 As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of democratization and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. Gomez, Edward M. Hosni Mubarak's pretend democratic election. San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2005. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. Anger over Egypt vote timetable BBC News. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists. [[Image:Kefaya demo.jpg\|thumb\|Members of the Kifaya democracy movement protesting a fifth term for President Hosni Mubarak. See also video.]] Several local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on democracy activists challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning Christians which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of Christianity by underground radical groups remains a problem. Church Building Regulations Eased In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem. In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005." Freedom House. Freedom in the World - Egypt. 2006 In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt torture centre, report says. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-11. Accessed 2007-4-11. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government. Egypt rejects torture criticism. bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Accessed 2007-4-13. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the president. Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs. EOHR. June 3, 2003. and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree. ANHRI. 2004 Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws. December 5, 2006. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul. Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution. Reuters. March 20, 2007. The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see Egyptian Identification Card Controversy.) Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Arab League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989. Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by Saudi Arabia and oil rich Gulf States. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries. Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996. Map of Egypt, showing the 26 capitals of governorates, in addition to the self-governing city of Luxor Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (muhafazat, singular muhafazah). The governorates are further divided into regions (markazes). \| \|style="padding-top:8px;"\| \|} The Nile River at the ancient city of Aswan, a popular destination for vacationersEgypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries. Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives. The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement. Egyptian farm Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 80-90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity, primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination. Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity, BBC NEWS \| The limits of a Green Revolution? made by the Green Revolution. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal communities of Beja concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of Dom clans mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases. Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, UNDP, p. 75. though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees, and about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees, Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt but the number of the largest group, the Sudanese, is contested. See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for a lower estimate. The The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states on its web site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the hope of resettling in Europe or the US. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a December 16 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"âIslam, Christianity and Judaismâand all other religious beliefsâthus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. and a minority of Shi'a. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, Wahington Institute (Citing pop. estimates) more than 95% of whom belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and various Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the Constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University ( ) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million Christians worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in Armenia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Lebanon and Syria. Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist Islamist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'Ã©tat led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques. WorldWide Religious News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. Compass Direct News. Church Building Regulations Eased. December 13, 2005. In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. Human Rights Watch. Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt. 2005 The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32 cabinet ministers, two are Copts: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector; Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. ArabicNews.com. Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday. December 20, 2002. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks , in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in Alexandria left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation. BBC. Egypt church attacks spark anger, April 15 2006. Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Egyptian Jews, who were mostly Karaites, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, Yaqub Sanu' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer Leila Mourad, and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the Ottoman Empire and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, a great number of Jews were expelled by Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500. Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Cairo. Bassatine News. 2006. Over ten million Egyptians follow the Christian faith as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. BahÃ¡'Ãs in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been persecuted, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on May 15, 2006. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the BahÃ¡'Ãs, stating that the government may not recognize the BahÃ¡'Ã Faith in official identification documents. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books. While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. EGYPT: NATIONAL UNITY AND THE COPTIC ISSUE. 2004 Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity. 03 November, 2003 Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. Shahine, Gihan. "Fraud, not Freedom". Ahram Weekly, 3 - 9 May 2007 Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt's second largest city. Egyptian culture has five thousand years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt. El-Daly, op cit., p. 29 Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress. Jankowski, op cit., p. 130 Eighteenth dynasty painting from the tomb of Theban governor Ramose in Deir el-Madinah. The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. Cairo Film Festival information. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame. Literature constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Vatikiotis, op cit. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. Upper Egyptian folk musicians from Kom Ombo. Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. These prominent artists were followed later by Amr Diab. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities. Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday. Cairo International Stadium during the 2006 African Cup of Nations Football (soccer) is the de facto national sport of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990. Squash and tennis are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. Egypt Military Strength According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF. Steinitz, Yuval. Not the peace we expected. Haaretz. December 05, 2006. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years. Katz, Yaacov. "Egypt to launch first spy satellite," Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2007. White Desert, Farafra At , World Factbook area rank order Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, twice the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska. Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Hamza, Waleed. Land use and Coastal Management in the Third Countries: Egypt as a case. Accessed= 2007-06-10. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats. Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See Egyptian Protectorates for more information. Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as , all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Temperatures average between and in summer, and up to on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between and in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than . * List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt * List of writers from Egypt * List of Egyptian companies * List of Egypt-related topics * List of Egyptians * List of Egyptian universities General references * * * Leonard William King, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg. * Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, History of Egypt, ChaldÃ¦a, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, in 12 volumes, Project Gutenberg. * Ancient Egyptian Civilization - Aldokkan * Rural poverty in Egypt (IFAD) * Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page * Egyptian Government Services Portal * New Projects in Egypt * Egypt State Information Services * Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English * BBC News Country Profile - Egypt * CIA World Factbook - Egypt * Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt. * US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * Business Anti-Corruption Portal Egypt Country Profile * Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt * * * Egypt Maps - Perry-CastaÃ±eda Map Collection * Egyptian History (urdu) * By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) * Egypt Online Directory * The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights * PortSaid Free-zone forums Related Wikipedia Articles Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Arabic language Cairo Semi-presidential system republic President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazif History of Egypt First dynasty of Egypt Circa United Kingdom February 28 1922 June 18 1953 CIA World Factbook Egyptian pound Eastern European Summer Time .eg Egyptian Arabic Egyptian language Coptic language Egyptian Arabic North Africa Sinai Peninsula land bridge Asia Libya Sudan Gaza Strip Israel Mediterranean Sea Cyprus Red Sea Africa Nile River arable Sahara Desert Cairo Alexandria Nile Delta Ancient Egypt Giza pyramid complex Great Sphinx of Giza Luxor Karnak Valley of the Kings Middle East Egyptian language Coptic language Upper and Lower Egypt Arabic language Egyptian Arabic Semitic cognate Hebrew 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elephant	Are elephants the largest land animals alive today?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Are elephants the largest land animals alive today?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Can an elephant kill a rhinoceros?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Can an elephant kill a rhinoceros?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Are elephants good swimmers?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Are elephants good swimmers?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How many living species of African Elephants are there?	2	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How many living species of African Elephants are there?	The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species.	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How long may elephants live?	70 years	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How long may elephants live?	As long as 70 years, sometimes longer.	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Why does the phrase 'elephants never forget' have no metaphorical meaning?	it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Why does the phrase 'elephants never forget' have no metaphorical meaning?	Because it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory.	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How many living species of Asian Elephants are there?	1	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How many living species of Asian Elephants are there?	one	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How much do elephants weight at birth?	120 kilograms	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How much do elephants weight at birth?	At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb).	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What did Aristotle say about elephants?	the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What did Aristotle say about elephants?	Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind."	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Are elephant populations in West Africa generally small and fragmented?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Are elephant populations in West Africa generally small and fragmented?	Yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Is the Asian elephant larger than the African?	no	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Is the Asian elephant larger than the African?	Sometimes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Is an elephant's skin tough?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Is an elephant's skin tough?	Yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How do elephants communicate over long distances?	by producing and receiving low frequency sound	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How do elephants communicate over long distances?	By producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound)	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	When do African elephants lie down?	when they are sick or wounded	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How long is the elephant's gestation period?	22 months	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How long is the elephant's gestation period?	22 months	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How many species of African elephants have been proposed?	three	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	How many species of African elephants have been proposed?	three	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What are the elephant's ears important for?	temperature regulation	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What are the elephant's ears important for?	temperature regulation	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What land animal has the largest brain?	elephant	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What land animal has the largest brain?	The elephant	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Are elephants mammals?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Are elephants mammals?	Yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Have elephants been used as working animals?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Have elephants been used as working animals?	Yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Do they prefer forested areas?	Yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Do they prefer forested areas?	Yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What is the world population of Asian elephants?	60000	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What is the world population of Asian elephants?	The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What part of an elephant is very important for temperature regulation?	Ears	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What part of an elephant is very important for temperature regulation?	The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation.	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Where was the largest elephant ever recorded shot?	Angola	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Where was the largest elephant ever recorded shot?	The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956.	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Is an Asian elephant smaller than an African elephant?	yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Is an Asian elephant smaller than an African elephant?	Yes	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What land animal is larger than an elephant?	null	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	What land animal is larger than an elephant?	None, the elephant is the largest land animal.	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Has tusklessness become a rare abnormality?	No	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
elephant	Has tusklessness become a rare abnormality?	No, tusklessness has become a widespread hereditary trait.	data/set1/a5	elephant Elephants (Elephantidae) are a family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most well-known of these. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼Î»ÎÏÎ±Ï, meaning "ivory" or "elephant". Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 m (13.8 ft), a metre (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Bate, D.M.A. 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of Elephas creticus sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence, and are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids . Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although lions may take calves and occasionally adults. A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523â530 In some areas, lions may regularly take to preying on elephants. Hemson, Graham (2003) The Ecology and Conservation of Lions: Human-Wildlife Conflict in semi-arid Botswana. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Oxford. Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860. The African Elephant genus contains two (or, arguably, three) living species; whereas, the Asian Elephant species is the only surviving member of its genus, but can be subdivided into four subspecies. African elephants, at up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in) tall and weighing 7500 kg (8.27 short tons), are usually larger than the Asian species and they have bigger ears. Both male and female African elephants have long tusks, while their Asian counterparts have shorter ones, with those of females vanishingly small. African elephants have a dipped back, smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas the Asian have an arched back, two humps on the forehead and only one "finger" at the tip of their trunks. African elephants are further subdivided into two populations, the Savanna and Forest, and recent genetic studies have led to a reclassification of these as separate species, the forest population now being called Loxodonta cyclotis, and the Savanna (or Bush) population termed Loxodonta africana. This reclassification has important implications for conservation, because it means that where previously it was assumed that a single and endangered species comprised two small populations, if in reality these are two separate species, then as a consequence, both could be more gravely endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species might have been. There is also a potential danger in that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their body parts. The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can hybridise â that is, breed together â successfully, though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids. Successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is much more unlikely, as is animal hybridization across different genera in general. In 1978, however, at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived. Female African elephant with calf, in Kenya. African bush (savanna) elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their ears. Africans' ears are much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. The African is typically larger than the Asian and has a concave back. Both African males and females have external tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins. African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. While this split is not universally accepted by experts a third species of African elephant has also been proposed. Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest land animal in the world, standing up to 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male stands about 3 m (10 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 5500â6000 kg (6.1â6.6 tons), the female being much smaller. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara. The other postulated species is the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Compared with the Savanna Elephant, its ears are usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter and not directed outwards as much. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and stand about 3 m (10 ft) tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, though occasionally they roam the edges of forests and so overlap the territories of the Savanna elephants and breed with them. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate , but it is very widely cited and has become a de facto baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, Loxodonta received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. Today, according to IUCNâs African Elephant Status Report 2007 there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Blanc et al. 2007, op. cit. Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. An Asian elephant swimming. The Asian elephant is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks. "O Elephante" - Hand-coloured engraving drawn by H.Gobin and engraved by Ramus - Printed in France by the "Lamoureaux de Paris" and Published for MagalhÃ£es e Moniz Editores in Portugal - 1890 (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon) The world population of Asian elephants â also called Indian Elephants or Elephas maximus â is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual with the causes primarily being poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment. There are several subspecies of Elephas maximus and some have been identified only using molecular markers. The first found subspecies is the Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). Found only on the island of Sri Lanka, it is the largest of the Asians. There are only an estimated 3,000â4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out in the recent past. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than are found in the other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala Sri Lanka, which gives shelter to disabled, injured elephants. This program plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from extinction. Elephant In Sri Lanka Another subspecies, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available. The smallest of all the elephants is the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7â2.6 m (5.6â8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). An enormous animal nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats. In 2003 a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks. The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. According to biologists, the elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it, making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. Some sources indicate that the correct number of muscles in an elephant's trunk is closer to one hundred thousand. Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk (up to fifteen quarts or fourteen litres at a time) and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also inhale water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which act as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel. This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother / child interactions, and for dominance displays â a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them. An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Raising the trunk up in the air and swivelling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks will grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons. Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population. Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as Gomphotherium, or only in their lower jaws, such as Deinotherium. Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are: The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks. The milk precursors of the tusks. 12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw. 12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw. Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side This gives elephants a dental formula of: Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for tooth wearout, their metabolism would allow them to live much longer. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed this as an explanation for the elephant graveyards. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age. Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in Deinotherium and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting. Skin of an African elephant Elephants are called pachyderms, which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails. The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Though tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources. Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat. Elephant using its feet to crush a watermelon prior to eating it An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted. An elephant is a good swimmer, but it can neither trot, jump, nor gallop. It does have two gaits: a walk, and a faster gait that is similar to running. In walking the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase," the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However an elephant moving fast uses its legs like a running animal does, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". Natural History 116:(4) 28-9. Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants may reach 25 km/h, all the while using the same gait. At this speed most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even with leg length accounted for. Spring-like kinetics may explain the difference between the motion of these and other animals. Walking at a normal pace an elephant covers about 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph) but they can reach 40 km/h (24 mph) at full speed. An Elephant sanctuary at Punnathur kotta, Kerala, south India. The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from a gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances. Evolution of elephants from the ancient Eocene (bottom) to the modern day (top). Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, scientists discovered genetic evidence that the elephant family shares distant ancestry with the Sirenians (sea cows) and the hyraxes through gene comparisons. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One theory suggests that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have retained this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km. In the past, there was a much wider variety of elephant genera, including the mammoths, stegodons and deinotheria. There was also a much wider variety of species. Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: time, space and taxonomy (pdf). In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72. Elephants are herbivores, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant can consume 140â270 kg (300â600 lb) of food a day. 60% of that food leaves the elephant's body undigested. Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-cerebrum (1a)-temporal lobe and (2)-cerebellum With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behaviour, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness evidence a highly intelligent species on par with cetaceans and primates . The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity. Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. It is believed that sound communication between elephants on large distances, through the ground, is important in their social lives, and elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully moving their very sensitive feet. Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale)Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives. The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. Mirror self recognition is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, that were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability had earlier only been demonstrated in humans, apes and Bottlenose Dolphins. Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(45):17053â17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 abstract A young elephant in Zimbabwe. African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430 Elephants communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel through the ground farther than sound travels through the air. This can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book Silent Thunder. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Females (cows) reach sexual maturity at around 9â12 years of age and become pregnant for the first time, on average, around age 13. They can reproduce until ages 55â60. Females give birth at intervals of about 5 years. Their gestation (pregnancy) period lasts about 22 months (630â660 days), the longest gestation period of any mammal, after which typically one calf is born. Twins are rare. Labour ranges in length from 5 minutes to 60 hours. The average length of labour is 11 hours. At birth, calves weigh around 90â115 kg (200â250 lb), and they gain 1 kg (2â2.5 lb) a day. In the wild, the mother is accompanied by other adult females (aunts), who protect the young, and baby elephants are raised and nurtured by the whole family group, practically from the moment of birth. African elephant calf nursing The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement. With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean against its mother's legs. A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slowly moving herd within a few days. Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 90 centimeters (3 feet) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples. A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead. A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 U.S. gallons) of milk in a single day. A calf may nurse for up to 2 years or more. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf. Newborn calves learn mainly by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks. It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head. Elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, at which time she will seek out the most attractive male to mate with. Females are generally attracted to bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival. After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother will give birth to a calf that will weigh about 113 kg (250 lb) and stand over 76 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long childhood. They are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they must rely on their elders to teach them the things they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. All members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. Since everyone in the herd is related, there is never a shortage of baby-sitters. In fact, a new calf is usually the centre of attention for all herd members. All the adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies, almost completely, on its trunk to discover the world around it. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself. So, the more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. Elephants' foraging activities affect the areas in which they live: By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots they create clearings in which new young trees and other vegetation grow to provide future nutrition for elephants and other organisms. Elephants make pathways through the environment that are used by other animals to access areas normally out of reach. The pathways have been used by several generations of elephants, and today people are converting many of them to paved roads. During the dry season elephants use their tusks to dig into dry river beds to reach underground sources of water. These newly dug water holes may become the only source of water in the area. Elephants are a species which many other organisms depend on. For example, termites eat elephant feces and often begin building termite mounds under piles of elephant feces. The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat. As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources. An Elephant resting his head on a tree trunk, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. An elephant in the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. Africa's first official reserve eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. Kruger National Park in South Africa first became a reserve against great opposition in 1898 (then Sabi Reserve). It was deproclaimed and reproclaimed several times before it was renamed and granted national park status in 1926. It was to be the first of many. There were many problems in establishing these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. However, when most parks were created, the boundaries were drawn at the human-made borders of individual countries. Once a fence was erected, many animals found themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals died as a result, while some, like the elephants, just trampled through the fences. This did little to belie their image as a crop-raiding pest. The more often an elephant wandered off its reserve, the more trouble it got into, and the more chance it had of being shot by an angry farmer. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes. Today there are still many problems associated with these parks and reserves, but there is now little question as to whether or not they are necessary. As scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them. Additionally, Kruger National Park has suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. South Africa slaughtered 14,562 elephants in the reserve between 1967 and 1994; it stopped in 1995, mostly due to international and local pressure. Without action, it is predicted that the elephant population in Kruger National Park will triple to 34,000 by 2020. The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait. It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants, a development normally requiring thousands of years of evolution. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana, born 1969 (left), and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, born 1970 (right), at an English zoo. Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of musth is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing"). War elephants were used by armies in the Indian sub-continent, and later by the Persian empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against king Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes). Throughout Siam, India, and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot. The Judean rebel Eleazar Maccabeus kills a Seleucid war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis). Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian shikar (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment, and are common to circuses around the world. African elephants have long been reputed to not be domesticable, but some entrepreneurs have succeeded by bringing Asian mahouts from Sri Lanka to Africa. In Botswana, Uttum Corea has been working with African elephants and has several young tame elephants near Gaborone. African elephants are more temperamental than Asian elephants, but are easier to train. Because of their more sensitive temperaments, they require different training methods than Asian elephants and must be trained from infancy hence Corea worked with orphaned elephants. African elephants are now being used for (photo) safaris. Corea's elephants are also used to entertain tourists and haul logs. Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". However, zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the wellbeing of elephants in captivity. The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in Bactria, Demetrius I (205-171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of India . Elephants on the embossed cover of Kipling's original 1894 edition of The Jungle Book, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) George Orwell wrote a famous essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant", chronicling a 1926 episode of being forced to shoot an elephant while he served as an Imperial Policeman in Burma. A famous story of Ivo AndriÄ is titled "A Story about the Vezier's Elephant." * The phrase 'elephants never forget' has no metaphorical meaning, it refers literally to elephants supposedly having an excellent memory. * The expression white elephant refers to an expensive burden, particularly to a situation in which much has been invested with false expectations. The phrase 'white elephant sale' was sometimes used in Australia as a synonym for jumble sale. * Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". * Dumbo, the elephant who learns to fly in the Disney movie of the same name. The French children's storybook character Babar the Elephant (an elephant king) created by Jean de Brunhoff and also an animated TV series. The Oakland Athletics mascot is a white elephant. The story of picking the mascot was started when New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a âwhite elephant on his hands," Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, though over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colours (currently forest green). The Aâs are sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the Elephants or White Elephants. The team mascot is nicknamed Stomper. * The Elephant's Child is one of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. * Horton Hatches the Egg is a book by Dr. Seuss about a faithful elephant who sits on the nest of an irresponsible bird for months. Joseph Merrick, a British man in Victorian England was nicknamed "The Elephant Man" due to the nature and extent of his deformities. American band the White Stripes' fourth album was entitled Elephant, possibly because of lead singer Jack White's fondness of the animals' extreme sensitivity toward each other. The album was #390 in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Best Albums of All Time". * The Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (US title: "The Protector", UK title: "Warrior King") is about a man named Kham who travels from Thailand to Australia in pursuit of poachers who have stolen two elephants. Kham is a member of a family that protects the elephants of the King of Thailand. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa. * In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings story, there exist oliphaunts, house-sized versions of elephants. Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, south India. * The scattered skulls of prehistoric pygmy elephants on Crete, featuring a single large nasal cavity at the front, may have formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, the one-eyed giants featured in Homer's Odyssey. * A white elephant is considered holy in Thailand. * Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, has an elephant's head. * Elephants are used in festivals in Sri Lanka, such as the Esala Perahera. * Temple elephant * Guruvayur Keshavan famous temple elephant in Kerala, India * The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant was written to show how reality may be viewed by different perspectives. Its source is unknown, but it appears to have originated in India. It has been attributed to Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Sufis, and was also used by Discordians. * In Judeo-Christian accounts, including Midrash on the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, the youngest of the Hasmonean brothers, Eleazar the Maccabee stuck a spear under the foot of an elephant carrying an important Greek-Assyrian general, killing the elephant, the general, and Eleazar. A newspaper clip shows election officials carrying the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) on an elephant. These officials are travelling to a remote polling station, inaccessible by other means of transport. After Alexander's victory over the Indian king Porus, the captured war elephants became a symbol of imperial power, used as an emblem of the Seleucid diadoch empire, e.g. on coins. The elephant, and the white elephant (also a religious symbol of Buddha) in particular, has often been used as a symbol of royal power and prestige in Asia; occurring on the flag of the kingdom Laos (three visible, supporting an umbrella, another symbol of royal power) till it became a republic in 1975, and other Indochinese and Thai realms had also displayed one or more white elephants. The elephant is also the symbol for the Republican Party of the United States, originating in an 1874 cartoon of an Asian elephant by Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly (Nast also originated the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party). The Order of the Elephant ( ) is the highest order of Denmark, instituted in its current form on 1693 by King Christian V. The collar of the order consists of alternating elephants and towers, and its badge shows an elephant bearing a watch tower, in front of which a Moor is sitting, holding a golden spear. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhinoceros. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year. Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephant goring and killing of rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. "Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa" by Rob Slotow, Dave Balfour, and Owen Howison. Pachyderm 31 (July-December, 2001):14-20. Accessed September 14, 2007. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos. Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis. Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated". The Channel 5 British television program "The Dark Side of Elephants" (March 20 2006) stated that during musth: * The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour that tries to counteract this is digging the tusks into the ground. * The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. * As a result, musth behaviour is at least partly due to the elephant being driven mad by pain and distress. Steve Hirano tries to hold Tyke the elephant behind a gate during a rampage. At least a few elephants have been suspected to be drunk during their attacks. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals. Elephants have used their powers of deduction to "hijack" trucks carrying sugarcane. Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant, separated from the rest of the herd. It is a calque of the Sinhala term hora aliya. Its introduction to English has been attributed by the Oxford English Dictionary to Sir James Emerson Tennent, but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr. In some parts of Africa lions prey on elephants. Lions are the only known natural predators of elephants. Elephants have a variety of both ecto-parasites and endo-parasites, including the highly specialized flies of the genus Cobboldia. * Subfamilia Elephantinae Tribe Elephantini (elephants) * Subtribe Primelephantina â ** Genus Primelephas â * Subtribe Loxodontina ** Genus Loxodon * Subgenus Loxodonta (African elephants) ** Species Loxodonta africana *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana adaurora â *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana africana (African Bush Elephant or African Cape Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana oxyotis (African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant) *** Subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaonensis (North African Elephant, Carthaginian Elephant or Atlas Elephant) â ** Species Loxodonta cyclotis (African Forest Elephant) 1 * Subtribe Elephantina or Supergenus Elephadon ** Genus Elephas (Eurasian elephants) * Species Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus indicus (Indian Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus sumatrensis (Sumatran Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus borneensis (Borneo Elephant or Asian Pygmy Elephant) ** Subspecies Elephas maximus rubridens (Chinese Elephant) â ** Subspecies ? Vietnam Elephant and Laos Elephant 2 ** Subspecies Elephas maximus asurus (Syrian Elephant) â * Species Elephas beyeri â * Species Elephas celebensis â * Species Elephas iolensis â * Species Elephas planifrons â * Species Elephas platycephalus â * Species Elephas recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki atavus â ** Subspecies Elephas recki brumpti â ** Subspecies Elephas recki ileretensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki illertensis â ** Subspecies Elephas recki recki â ** Subspecies Elephas recki shungurensis â * Subgenus Palaeoloxodon â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) ekorensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) falconeri â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus â ** Species Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni â Genus Mammuthus â * Species Mammuthus africanavus (African mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus armeniacus (Armenian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus exilis (Pygmy mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus dwarfus (Wrangel Island mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus imperator (American mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus jeffersonii (Jeffersonian mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus lamarmorae (Sardinian Dwarf mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus planifrons â * Species Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth) â * Species Mammuthus subplanifrons â * Species Mammuthus trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) â Tribe Belodontini â * Subtribe Belodontina â Genus Stegotetrabelodon â ** Genus Stegodibelodon â * Subfamilia Stegodontinae â Genus Stegodon â * Species Stegodon aurorae â * Species Stegodon elephantoides â * Species Stegodon florensis â * Species Stegodon ganesha â * Species Stegodon insignis â * Species Stegodon orientalis â * Species Stegodon shinshuensis â * Species Stegodon sompoensis â * Species Stegodon sondaarii â * Species Stegodon trigonocephalus â * Species Stegodon zdanski â * Subfamilia Lophodontinae or Rhynchotheriinae 3 â Genus Anancus â * Species Anancus alexeevae â * Species Anancus arvernensis â * Species Anancus kenyensis â Genus Morrillia â Tribe Lophodontini (Lophodonty) â * Subtribe Lophodontina â Genus Tetralophodon â Genus Paratetralophodon â Tribe Cuvieroniini â * Genus Stegomastodon â Species Stegomastodon arizonae â Species Stegomastodon mirificus â Species Stegomastodon primitivus â * Genus Cuvieronius â ** Species Cuvieronius hyodon â Species Cuvieronius priestleyi â ** Species Cuvieronius tropicus â 1. The supposed African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta (africana) pumilio or Loxodonta fransseni) is indistinguishable from the normal African Forest Elephant on a population genetics level. It appears to be a local morph. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)) - Accessed December 16, 2007 2. The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies. 3. The subfamily Lophodontinae/Rhynchotheriinae, are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae. * Ability to swim * Blind Men and an Elephant * Crushing by elephant * Dwarf elephant * Elephant's graveyard * Elephant (movie) * Elephant ear * Elephant joke * Elephant in the corner * Elephant sanctuary * Elephants in Kerala culture * History of elephants in Europe * MÃ»mak * Temple elephant * War elephant * White elephant * Year of the Elephant * Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage * * * Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe * * External link to national geographics elephant rage episode of Explorer * Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26 (2003) 421â434 * C. Johnson, "Elephant trunks were once snorkels", News in Science 1999-05-11, * Elephant: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation * EleAid - Elephant facts, info and pictures from Asian elephant charity * Absolute elephant - general information ** Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Sanparks - South African National Parks official website * How elephants communicate * Elephant News - latest headlines about elephants * Elephant Pictures & Information * Photo of Pinnewella Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka * Seek My Bowl on elephants as symbols * Elephant Reintroduction Foundation * Amboseli Trust for Elephants - interactive web site * Animal info * List of easy-to-read articles about elephants * Temple Elephants in India â A short video in Quicktime format. * African Elephant Database â For current info on African elephant distribution and numbers. * Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay South Africa * Elephant Sanctuary, Howenwald, Tenn. * Elephant Nature Park, Northern Thailand ** Park's Volunteer Site * A musth FAQ * Short videos from Botswana: Taking a mud bath, Walking across the plains of Chobe National Park, Drinking from the banks of a river Related Wikipedia Articles Serengeti Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania Animal Chordate Vertebrate Mammal Proboscidea Elephantoidea John Edward Gray Subfamily Elephant#Family classification family (biology) order (biology) Proboscidea class (biology) Mammal Order (biology) Pachydermata species African Bush Elephant African Forest Elephant African Elephant Asian Elephant extinct species ice age Mammoth mammal Giant animals gestation kilogram Pound (mass) Angola Crete Pleistocene Dorothea Bate cetaceans hominids Aristotle 2007-03-28 ivory African Elephant genus species Asian Elephant subspecies African Bush Elephant Forest Elephant Chester Zoo Motty Natural History Museum African Kenya Mikumi National Park Tanzania Loxodonta DNA analysis grassland marsh Sub-Saharan Africa Territory (animal) Iain Douglas-Hamilton IUCN Sri Lankan Elephant Sri Lanka orphanage Pinnawala Sri Lanka extinction Indian Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Borneo pygmy elephant proboscis herbivores Snorkel (swimming) tusk incisor baobab Handedness calcium phosphate apatite ivory Gomphotherium Deinotherium Tooth tusk Deciduous teeth premolar Molar (tooth) dentition Tooth development Indianapolis Zoo Rupert Sheldrake elephant graveyard Deinotherium mastodon teeth centimetre watermelon Trot (horse gait) jump Horse gait#Gallop tetrapod Nature (journal) Elephant sanctuary Punnathur kotta Kerala south India Eocene Sirenia hyrax Snorkel (swimming) mammoth stegodon deinotherium herbivore cerebrum temporal lobe cerebellum whale grief art compassion self-awareness cetaceans primate temporal lobe matriarch musth Mirror test humans apes Bottlenose Dolphin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zimbabwe Katy Payne gestation nasal passage fluid mammary gland muscle tone weaning instinct dry river beds water termites Samburu National Reserve Kenya Ngorongoro Tanzania Kruger National Park 1898 Associated Press 2005-11-28 1999-03-30 African Asia England zoo working animals musth Elephant "Crushing" War elephant Persian empire Hellenistic Alexander the Great Porus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid Carthage Hannibal Barca Alps Roman Republic Battle of Hydaspes Siam India crushing by elephant Judea Eleazar Maccabeus Seleucid Speculum Humanae Salvationis hunting transport entertainment Circus (performing art) mahout Sri Lanka Uttum Corea Gaborone zoos wild animal parks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Indo-Greek Kingdom Bactria Demetrius I of Bactria Kipling 1894 The Jungle Book John Lockwood Kipling George Orwell Shooting an Elephant Burma Ivo AndriÄ white elephant jumble sale Jumbo Circus (performing art) Dumbo The Walt Disney Company Babar the Elephant Jean de Brunhoff Oakland Athletics New York Giants John McGraw (baseball) Benjamin Shibe Connie Mack (baseball) Stomper The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories Horton Hatches the Egg Dr. Seuss Joseph Merrick Victorian England The Elephant Man the White Stripes Rolling Stone Tom-Yum-Goong The Protector Prachya Pinkaew Tony Jaa J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings oliphaunt Esala Perahera Kandy Sri Lanka Thrissur Pooram Kerala south India Crete nasal cavity cyclops giant (mythology) Homer Odyssey White elephant (pachyderm) Thailand Ganesh Hindu Sri Lanka Esala Perahera Temple elephant Guruvayur Keshavan Blind Men and an Elephant India Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sufism Discordianism Judeo-Christian Midrash apocrypha 1 Maccabees Hasmonean Eleazar Maccabee Indian voting machines polling station Porus war elephants Seleucid diadoch white elephant Gautama Buddha Republican Party (United States) 1874 Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly donkey Democratic Party (United States) Order of the Elephant Order (decoration) Denmark 1693 King Christian V Moors humans lions rhinoceros 2006-10-12 Sydney Morning Herald India musth temporal bone 2007-09-14 2006-10-08 zoos captive breeding reproductive hormone Testosterone Rut (mammalian reproduction) estrus Urdu Persian language Five (channel) United Kingdom television program March 20 2006 eye root abscess toothache ketone aldehyde Steve Hirano Tyke the elephant BBC News 1998-12-24 BBC News 1999-10-21 BBC News 2002-12-17 Sydney Morning Herald 2003-12-09 calque Sinhalese language English language Oxford English Dictionary James Emerson Tennent William Sirr lions Cobboldia Theora Elephantinae Primelephantina extinction Primelephas extinction Loxodontina Loxodonta Loxodonta Loxodonta africana Loxodonta adaurora extinction African Bush Elephant African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta pharaonensis extinction African Forest Elephant Elephantina Elephas Elephas Asian Elephant Indian Elephant Sri Lankan Elephant Sumatran Elephant Borneo Elephant Chinese Elephant extinction Syrian Elephant extinction Elephas beyeri extinction Elephas celebensis extinction Elephas iolensis extinction Elephas planifrons extinction Elephas platycephalus extinction Elephas recki extinction Elephas recki atavus extinction Elephas recki brumpti extinction Elephas recki ileretensis extinction Elephas recki illertensis extinction Elephas recki recki extinction Elephas recki shungurensis extinction Palaeoloxodon extinction Straight-tusked Elephant extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creticus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) creutzburgi extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) chaniensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) cypriotes extinction Elephas ekorensis extinction Elephas falconeri extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) mnaidriensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) melitensis extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) namadicus extinction Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) naumanni extinction Mammuthus extinction African Mammoth extinction Mammuthus armeniacus extinction Columbian Mammoth extinction Pygmy Mammoth extinction Mammuthus dwarfus extinction Mammuthus imperator extinction Mammuthus jeffersonii extinction Dwarf elephant extinction Mammuthus meridionalis extinction Mammuthus planifrons extinction Woolly mammoth extinction Mammuthus subplanifrons extinction Steppe mammoth extinction Belodontini extinction Belodontina extinction Stegotetrabelodon extinction Stegodibelodon extinction Stegodontinae extinction Stegodon extinction Stegodon aurorae extinction Stegodon elephantoides extinction Stegodon florensis extinction Stegodon ganesha extinction Stegodon insignis extinction Stegodon orientalis extinction Stegodon shinshuensis extinction Stegodon sompoensis extinction Stegodon sondaarii extinction Stegodon trigonocephalus extinction Stegodon zdanski extinction Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae extinction Anancus extinction Anancus alexeevae extinction Anancus arvernensis extinction Anancus kenyensis extinction Morrillia extinction Lophodontini extinction Lophodontina extinction Tetralophodon extinction Paratetralophodon extinction Cuvieroniini extinction Stegomastodon extinction Stegomastodon arizonae extinction Stegomastodon mirificus extinction Stegomastodon primitivus extinction Cuvieronius extinction Cuvieronius hyodon extinction Cuvieronius priestleyi extinction Cuvieronius tropicus extinction African Pygmy Elephant population genetics morph (zoology) December 16 2007 Lophodontinae Rhynchotheriinae gomphothere Elephantidae Ability to swim#Elephants Blind Men and an Elephant Crushing by elephant Dwarf elephant Elephant's graveyard Elephant (movie) Elephant ear Elephant joke Elephant in the corner Elephant sanctuary Elephants in Kerala culture History of elephants in Europe MÃ»mak Temple elephant War elephant White elephant Year of the Elephant Pinnawala John Godfrey Saxe
Finland	Were the treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Ukraine?	no	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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Finland	Were the treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Ukraine?	No	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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objector Cold War reservist Chief of Defence (Finland) President of Finland Juhani Kaskeala Finnish Army Finnish Navy Finnish Air Force Finnish Border Guard energy policy Petroleum coal Oil refinery Neste Oil Nordpool hydropower Saimaa PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant nuclear power nuclear power plant PDF May 24 2002 Green League Watt#Watts electrical and thermal AREVA Siemens AG March 18 2007 Fortum environmental impact assessment 2007-03-28 fossil fuel coal oil Norway Estonia oil shale renewable energy pulp and paper industry black liquor peat bog Peat Biofuel carbon neutral Hydroelectricity HVDC Russia-Finland national security Nokia per capita Sweden United Kingdom France Germany Primary production (economics) International trade manufacturing electronics International trade export Gross domestic product timber Import (international trade) Agriculture self-sufficiency Forestry euro Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union January 1 1999 Finnish mark Finnish euro 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Jukka-Pekka Saraste Susanna MÃ¤lkki Leif Segerstam Karita Mattila Soile Isokoski Kari Kriikku Pekka Kuusisto RÃ©ka Szilvay Linda Brava heavy metal Nordic music rock band jazz hip hop dance music Bomfunk MCs Darude electronic music SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings Schlager dance music Tango music music of Argentina Toivo KÃ¤rki Olavi Virta Sauvo Puhtila Reino Helismaa Vexi Salmi Jimi Tenor JS16 DJ Orkidea Amorphis Children of Bodom HIM (band) Impaled Nazarene Lordi Nightwish Sentenced (band) Sonata Arctica Stratovarius Tarja Turunen The 69 Eyes Negative (glam-rock band) MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 Heavy metal music hard rock United States cello metal Apocalyptica Metallica cover version cello Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus CMX (band) Billy Gould Faith No More rock music Hanoi Rocks Andy McCoy The Rasmus Dead Letters Music recording sales certification In the Shadows (song) MTV Europe Lordi Eurovision Song Contest 2006 HIM (band) Tuska Open Air Metal Festival Kaisaniemi Helsinki Erkki Karu 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Finland	Is Finnish a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages?	yes	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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the Council of the European Union Finnish parliamentary election, 2007 Centre Party (Finland) National Coalition Party (Finland) Social Democratic Party of Finland Left Alliance (Finland) Green League Swedish People's Party (Finland) Christian Democrats (Finland) True Finns Ãland History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)#Yeltsin and the dissolution of the USSR Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 European integration Neutral country Peacekeeping United Nations European Union Battlegroups Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Finland) Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland) Ilkka Kanerva foreign policy customs union Nordic Council Nordic countries Sweden Norway Russia Estonia Territorial dispute military doctrine Constitution of Finland military operation United Nations Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe military alliance NATO Partnership for Peace gross domestic product En cadre Gross domestic product conscription Ãland Jehovah's Witnesses Conscientious 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Father's Day Paavo Nurmi 1920 Summer Olympics 2007 Formula One season Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix sport PesÃ¤pallo baseball Formula One ice hockey football (soccer) Finnish national men's ice hockey team Finland-Sweden athletics international Jari Kurri Teemu SelÃ¤nne National Hockey League Finland national football team FIFA World Cup UEFA European Football Championship Jari Litmanen Sami HyypiÃ¤ Auto racing Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions Keke Rosberg WilliamsF1 1982 Formula One season Mika HÃ¤kkinen McLaren 1998 Formula One season 1999 Formula One season Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen Scuderia Ferrari 2007 Formula One season Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Nico Rosberg WilliamsF1 Germans Leo Kinnunen Jyrki JÃ¤rvilehto Mika Salo Rallying World Rally Championship List of World Rally Championship Drivers' Champions Marcus GrÃ¶nholm Juha Kankkunen Hannu Mikkola Tommi MÃ¤kinen Timo Salonen Ari Vatanen road racing List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions Jarno Saarinen winter sport ski jumping Matti NykÃ¤nen Kalle Palander alpine skiing KitzbÃ¼hel Tanja Poutiainen Olympic Games silver medal Hannes Kolehmainen Paavo Nurmi Ville Ritola Gold medal Middle distance track event Long-distance track event Flying Finn (athlete) Lasse VirÃ©n 1972 Summer Olympics 1976 Summer Olympics 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki 1983 World Championships in Athletics 2005 World Championships in Athletics Riku Kiri Jouko Ahola Janne Virtanen World's Strongest Man 1993 2000 floorball Nordic walking running skiing List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset Finnish people Culture of Finland triptych Akseli Gallen-Kallela Aino (mythology) Kalevala Finnish Maiden national personification Kalevala national epic Finnish mythology Kantele MÃ¤mmi Kalakukko Mustamakkara Tampere Karelian pasties Karelia Joulupukki Jean Sibelius Finlandia (symphonic poem) Sauna Finnish sauna Sisu Perkele Finnish profanity Puukko Talkoot Ice swimming Nordic walking Salmiakki Sahti Koskenkorva Viina Flying Finn (athlete) List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History of Finland Finlandization Finnish Railway Museum Foreign relations of Finland Finnish Defence Forces Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart pastry poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg February 5 Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland International rankings of Finland International Standard Serial Number Max Jakobson William R. 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Finland	Is Finnish a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages?	Yes	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Finland	Is the most read newspaper in Finland Taloussanomat?	no	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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Finland	Is the most read newspaper in Finland Taloussanomat?	No	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Finland	Which Russian army general conquered Finland in 1809?	Alexander I	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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Finland	Which Russian army general conquered Finland in 1809?	Alexander I	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Jukka-Pekka Saraste Susanna MÃ¤lkki Leif Segerstam Karita Mattila Soile Isokoski Kari Kriikku Pekka Kuusisto RÃ©ka Szilvay Linda Brava heavy metal Nordic music rock band jazz hip hop dance music Bomfunk MCs Darude electronic music SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings Schlager dance music Tango music music of Argentina Toivo KÃ¤rki Olavi Virta Sauvo Puhtila Reino Helismaa Vexi Salmi Jimi Tenor JS16 DJ Orkidea Amorphis Children of Bodom HIM (band) Impaled Nazarene Lordi Nightwish Sentenced (band) Sonata Arctica Stratovarius Tarja Turunen The 69 Eyes Negative (glam-rock band) MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 Heavy metal music hard rock United States cello metal Apocalyptica Metallica cover version cello Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus CMX (band) Billy Gould Faith No More rock music Hanoi Rocks Andy McCoy The Rasmus Dead Letters Music recording sales certification In the Shadows (song) MTV Europe Lordi Eurovision Song Contest 2006 HIM (band) Tuska Open Air Metal Festival Kaisaniemi Helsinki Erkki Karu 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Finland	What is the life expectancy for men in Finland?	75 years	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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Finland	What is the life expectancy for men in Finland?	75 years	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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Eastern Front (World War II) Lapland War Soviet Union Winter War Continuation War Porkkala Moscow Peace Treaty (1940) Finnish Karelia Salla Pechenga Evacuation of Finnish Karelia Finnish war children Great Britain Agriculture Industrialisation Bilateralism Neutral country Western world Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 Urho Kekkonen self-censorship Finlandization market economy economic growth Social welfare provision History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)#Yeltsin and the dissolution of the USSR Bilateralism recession structural change European Union Exonym and endonym North Germanic languages Toponymy Finnmark Finnveden nomad hunter-gatherer slash and burn Finland Proper Baltic expeditions runestones#U 582 Gotland Baltic expeditions runestones#G 319 11th century Saimaa Europe Halti Lapland Province Norway taiga arable land granite Moraine till humus Archipelago Sea archipelago Ãland Gulf of Finland post-glacial rebound ice age 2004-08-24 Hanko Nuorgam Land's End John o' Groats ice age vascular plant bryophyte lichen ecology seasons extreme weather Scots Pine spruce birch Norway Oak maple Archipelago Sea Gulf of Bothnia Gulf of Finland mammal Brown Bear Gray Wolf Moose reindeer Red Fox Red Squirrel Mountain Hare Siberian Flying Squirrel Golden Eagle Saimaa Ringed Seal Arctic fox Whooper Swan swan Willow Warbler Chaffinch Redwing northern pike perch Salmon Fly fishing Saimaa Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Finland) Eurasian Lynx List of national parks of Finland climate Temperate Lapland Province subarctic climate Eurasia Oceanic climate continental climate Atlantic Ocean Gulf Stream latitude Arctic Circle midnight sun Provinces of Finland plural Southern Finland Western Finland Eastern Finland Oulu Province Lapland Province Ãland Dialect folklore Convention (norm) historical provinces of Finland Evacuation of Finnish Karelia World War II urbanization 20th century Regions of Finland Ãland self-governance Municipalities of Finland Regions of Finland January 1 2007 List 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objector Cold War reservist Chief of Defence (Finland) President of Finland Juhani Kaskeala Finnish Army Finnish Navy Finnish Air Force Finnish Border Guard energy policy Petroleum coal Oil refinery Neste Oil Nordpool hydropower Saimaa PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant nuclear power nuclear power plant PDF May 24 2002 Green League Watt#Watts electrical and thermal AREVA Siemens AG March 18 2007 Fortum environmental impact assessment 2007-03-28 fossil fuel coal oil Norway Estonia oil shale renewable energy pulp and paper industry black liquor peat bog Peat Biofuel carbon neutral Hydroelectricity HVDC Russia-Finland national security Nokia per capita Sweden United Kingdom France Germany Primary production (economics) International trade manufacturing electronics International trade export Gross domestic product timber Import (international trade) Agriculture self-sufficiency Forestry euro Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union January 1 1999 Finnish mark Finnish euro 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami people Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish Roma Finnish Tatars Mikael Agricola New Testament 16th century Protestant Reformation 19th century Romanticism Elias LÃ¶nnrot Kalevala national epic Aleksis Kivi Eino Leino Mika Waltari Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ Nobel Prize in Literature World War II VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna Ilkka Remes author Thriller (genre) Aino Aalto Alvar Aalto handicraft industrial design WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen Bust (sculpture) sculpture Eliel Saarinen Helsinki Central railway station Eero Saarinen Alvar Aalto Functionalism (architecture) furniture glassware Karelia Kalevala Finnic peoples Germanic peoples Eastern world Western world folk music roots revival popular music Sami people Yoik lavlu vuelie composer Jean Sibelius European classical music Germany Fredrik Pacius Maamme national anthem nationalism Jean Sibelius Kullervo (Sibelius) Finlandia (symphonic poem) Magnus Lindberg Kaija Saariaho Aulis Sallinen Einojuhani Rautavaara Sakari Oramo Mikko Franck Esa-Pekka Salonen Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤ Jukka-Pekka Saraste Susanna MÃ¤lkki Leif Segerstam Karita Mattila Soile Isokoski Kari Kriikku Pekka Kuusisto RÃ©ka Szilvay Linda Brava heavy metal Nordic music rock band jazz hip hop dance music Bomfunk MCs Darude electronic music SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings Schlager dance music Tango music music of Argentina Toivo KÃ¤rki Olavi Virta Sauvo Puhtila Reino Helismaa Vexi Salmi Jimi Tenor JS16 DJ Orkidea Amorphis Children of Bodom HIM (band) Impaled Nazarene Lordi Nightwish Sentenced (band) Sonata Arctica Stratovarius Tarja Turunen The 69 Eyes Negative (glam-rock band) MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 Heavy metal music hard rock United States cello metal Apocalyptica Metallica cover version cello Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus CMX (band) Billy Gould Faith No More rock music Hanoi Rocks Andy McCoy The Rasmus Dead Letters Music recording sales certification In the Shadows (song) MTV Europe Lordi Eurovision Song Contest 2006 HIM (band) Tuska Open Air Metal Festival Kaisaniemi Helsinki Erkki Karu 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racing List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions Jarno Saarinen winter sport ski jumping Matti NykÃ¤nen Kalle Palander alpine skiing KitzbÃ¼hel Tanja Poutiainen Olympic Games silver medal Hannes Kolehmainen Paavo Nurmi Ville Ritola Gold medal Middle distance track event Long-distance track event Flying Finn (athlete) Lasse VirÃ©n 1972 Summer Olympics 1976 Summer Olympics 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki 1983 World Championships in Athletics 2005 World Championships in Athletics Riku Kiri Jouko Ahola Janne Virtanen World's Strongest Man 1993 2000 floorball Nordic walking running skiing List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset Finnish people Culture of Finland triptych Akseli Gallen-Kallela Aino (mythology) Kalevala Finnish Maiden national personification Kalevala national epic Finnish mythology Kantele MÃ¤mmi Kalakukko Mustamakkara Tampere Karelian pasties Karelia Joulupukki Jean Sibelius Finlandia (symphonic poem) Sauna Finnish sauna Sisu Perkele Finnish profanity Puukko Talkoot Ice 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Finland	In what year were the "Games of the XV Olympiad" held?	1952	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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racing List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions Jarno Saarinen winter sport ski jumping Matti NykÃ¤nen Kalle Palander alpine skiing KitzbÃ¼hel Tanja Poutiainen Olympic Games silver medal Hannes Kolehmainen Paavo Nurmi Ville Ritola Gold medal Middle distance track event Long-distance track event Flying Finn (athlete) Lasse VirÃ©n 1972 Summer Olympics 1976 Summer Olympics 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki 1983 World Championships in Athletics 2005 World Championships in Athletics Riku Kiri Jouko Ahola Janne Virtanen World's Strongest Man 1993 2000 floorball Nordic walking running skiing List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset Finnish people Culture of Finland triptych Akseli Gallen-Kallela Aino (mythology) Kalevala Finnish Maiden national personification Kalevala national epic Finnish mythology Kantele MÃ¤mmi Kalakukko Mustamakkara Tampere Karelian pasties Karelia Joulupukki Jean Sibelius Finlandia (symphonic poem) Sauna Finnish sauna Sisu Perkele Finnish profanity Puukko Talkoot Ice swimming Nordic walking Salmiakki Sahti Koskenkorva Viina Flying Finn (athlete) List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History of Finland Finlandization Finnish Railway Museum Foreign relations of Finland Finnish Defence Forces Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart pastry poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg February 5 Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland International rankings of Finland International Standard Serial Number Max Jakobson William R. 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Finland	In what year were the "Games of the XV Olympiad" held?	1952	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Jukka-Pekka Saraste Susanna MÃ¤lkki Leif Segerstam Karita Mattila Soile Isokoski Kari Kriikku Pekka Kuusisto RÃ©ka Szilvay Linda Brava heavy metal Nordic music rock band jazz hip hop dance music Bomfunk MCs Darude electronic music SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings Schlager dance music Tango music music of Argentina Toivo KÃ¤rki Olavi Virta Sauvo Puhtila Reino Helismaa Vexi Salmi Jimi Tenor JS16 DJ Orkidea Amorphis Children of Bodom HIM (band) Impaled Nazarene Lordi Nightwish Sentenced (band) Sonata Arctica Stratovarius Tarja Turunen The 69 Eyes Negative (glam-rock band) MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 Heavy metal music hard rock United States cello metal Apocalyptica Metallica cover version cello Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus CMX (band) Billy Gould Faith No More rock music Hanoi Rocks Andy McCoy The Rasmus Dead Letters Music recording sales certification In the Shadows (song) MTV Europe Lordi Eurovision Song Contest 2006 HIM (band) Tuska Open Air Metal Festival Kaisaniemi Helsinki Erkki Karu 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Finland	What body of water lies to the south of Finland?	the Gulf of Finland	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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Finland	What body of water lies to the south of Finland?	Archipelago Sea	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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objector Cold War reservist Chief of Defence (Finland) President of Finland Juhani Kaskeala Finnish Army Finnish Navy Finnish Air Force Finnish Border Guard energy policy Petroleum coal Oil refinery Neste Oil Nordpool hydropower Saimaa PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant nuclear power nuclear power plant PDF May 24 2002 Green League Watt#Watts electrical and thermal AREVA Siemens AG March 18 2007 Fortum environmental impact assessment 2007-03-28 fossil fuel coal oil Norway Estonia oil shale renewable energy pulp and paper industry black liquor peat bog Peat Biofuel carbon neutral Hydroelectricity HVDC Russia-Finland national security Nokia per capita Sweden United Kingdom France Germany Primary production (economics) International trade manufacturing electronics International trade export Gross domestic product timber Import (international trade) Agriculture self-sufficiency Forestry euro Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union January 1 1999 Finnish mark Finnish euro 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Jukka-Pekka Saraste Susanna MÃ¤lkki Leif Segerstam Karita Mattila Soile Isokoski Kari Kriikku Pekka Kuusisto RÃ©ka Szilvay Linda Brava heavy metal Nordic music rock band jazz hip hop dance music Bomfunk MCs Darude electronic music SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings Schlager dance music Tango music music of Argentina Toivo KÃ¤rki Olavi Virta Sauvo Puhtila Reino Helismaa Vexi Salmi Jimi Tenor JS16 DJ Orkidea Amorphis Children of Bodom HIM (band) Impaled Nazarene Lordi Nightwish Sentenced (band) Sonata Arctica Stratovarius Tarja Turunen The 69 Eyes Negative (glam-rock band) MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 Heavy metal music hard rock United States cello metal Apocalyptica Metallica cover version cello Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus CMX (band) Billy Gould Faith No More rock music Hanoi Rocks Andy McCoy The Rasmus Dead Letters Music recording sales certification In the Shadows (song) MTV Europe Lordi Eurovision Song Contest 2006 HIM (band) Tuska Open Air Metal Festival Kaisaniemi Helsinki Erkki Karu 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racing List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions Jarno Saarinen winter sport ski jumping Matti NykÃ¤nen Kalle Palander alpine skiing KitzbÃ¼hel Tanja Poutiainen Olympic Games silver medal Hannes Kolehmainen Paavo Nurmi Ville Ritola Gold medal Middle distance track event Long-distance track event Flying Finn (athlete) Lasse VirÃ©n 1972 Summer Olympics 1976 Summer Olympics 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki 1983 World Championships in Athletics 2005 World Championships in Athletics Riku Kiri Jouko Ahola Janne Virtanen World's Strongest Man 1993 2000 floorball Nordic walking running skiing List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset Finnish people Culture of Finland triptych Akseli Gallen-Kallela Aino (mythology) Kalevala Finnish Maiden national personification Kalevala national epic Finnish mythology Kantele MÃ¤mmi Kalakukko Mustamakkara Tampere Karelian pasties Karelia Joulupukki Jean Sibelius Finlandia (symphonic poem) Sauna Finnish sauna Sisu Perkele Finnish profanity Puukko Talkoot Ice 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Finland	Name an animal that is growing in number due to recent conservation efforts	Golden Eagle, Brown Bear, or Eurasian Lynx (Change imperative to interrogative)	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Finland	Name an animal that is growing in number due to recent conservation efforts	Golden Eagle	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami 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Jukka-Pekka Saraste Susanna MÃ¤lkki Leif Segerstam Karita Mattila Soile Isokoski Kari Kriikku Pekka Kuusisto RÃ©ka Szilvay Linda Brava heavy metal Nordic music rock band jazz hip hop dance music Bomfunk MCs Darude electronic music SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings Schlager dance music Tango music music of Argentina Toivo KÃ¤rki Olavi Virta Sauvo Puhtila Reino Helismaa Vexi Salmi Jimi Tenor JS16 DJ Orkidea Amorphis Children of Bodom HIM (band) Impaled Nazarene Lordi Nightwish Sentenced (band) Sonata Arctica Stratovarius Tarja Turunen The 69 Eyes Negative (glam-rock band) MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 Heavy metal music hard rock United States cello metal Apocalyptica Metallica cover version cello Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus CMX (band) Billy Gould Faith No More rock music Hanoi Rocks Andy McCoy The Rasmus Dead Letters Music recording sales certification In the Shadows (song) MTV Europe Lordi Eurovision Song Contest 2006 HIM (band) Tuska Open Air Metal Festival Kaisaniemi Helsinki Erkki Karu 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Finland	Today, are there more cell phone subscriptions than people in Finland?	yes	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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Finland	Today, are there more cell phone subscriptions than people in Finland?	Yes	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA Finland pictures ** English - Finnish dictionary Related Wikipedia Articles Europe European Union Maamme Finnish language Maamme#VÃ¥rt land Swedish language Maamme#Our Land Finnish language Swedish language Finnish people Helsinki Lutheran Parliamentary republic President of Finland Prime Minister of Finland Tarja Halonen Social Democratic Party (Finland) Matti Vanhanen Centre Party (Finland) January 1 1995 1000000000 (number) History of Finland Bolshevist Russia March 29 1809 December 6 1917 January 3 1918 Euro Euro sign Eastern European Time Eastern European Summer Time .fi .ax Semi-presidential system Finnish markka .eu European Union Nordic countries Northern Europe Sweden Russia Norway Estonia Gulf of Finland capital Helsinki list of countries by population density European Union First language Finnish peopleÂÂ Finnish language languages of the European Union Indo-European languages Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns 2006-12-31 Grand Duchy of Finland Russian Empire Finland's 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EckerÃ¶ Line EckerÃ¶ Grisslehamn airport Finnair Blue1 Finncomm Airlines Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Bangkok Beijing Delhi Guangzhou Mumbai Nagoya City of New York Osaka Shanghai Hong Kong Tokyo great circle airline Western Europe Far East Asia Europe M/S Silja Symphony Baltic Sea cruiseferries Tourism economy globalisation modernisation pine inlet Gulf of Finland fell Lapland Province Baltic Sea cruiseferries Baltic region Helsinki Turku Tallinn Stockholm TravemÃ¼nde Christmas skiing Nordic walking Santa Claus Lapland Province Arctic Circle polar night Lapland Province Aurora Borealis fluorescence golf fishing yachting hiking kayaking Bird-watching hunting Moose reindeer hare history tradition religion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland architecture Turku Castle HÃ¤me Castle Savonlinna Olavinlinna Savonlinna Savonlinna Opera Festival Grand Duchy of Finland St. Petersburg Chimney sauna Enonkoski Finnish sauna Finnish people Culture of Finland United States 21st century Asia Africa Sami people Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish Roma Finnish Tatars Mikael Agricola New Testament 16th century Protestant Reformation 19th century Romanticism Elias LÃ¶nnrot Kalevala national epic Aleksis Kivi Eino Leino Mika Waltari Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ Nobel Prize in Literature World War II VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna Ilkka Remes author Thriller (genre) Aino Aalto Alvar Aalto handicraft industrial design WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen Bust (sculpture) sculpture Eliel Saarinen Helsinki Central railway station Eero Saarinen Alvar Aalto Functionalism (architecture) furniture glassware Karelia Kalevala Finnic peoples Germanic peoples Eastern world Western world folk music roots revival popular music Sami people Yoik lavlu vuelie composer Jean Sibelius European classical music Germany Fredrik Pacius Maamme national anthem nationalism Jean Sibelius Kullervo (Sibelius) Finlandia (symphonic poem) Magnus Lindberg Kaija Saariaho Aulis Sallinen Einojuhani Rautavaara Sakari Oramo Mikko Franck Esa-Pekka Salonen Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤ Jukka-Pekka Saraste Susanna MÃ¤lkki Leif Segerstam Karita Mattila Soile Isokoski Kari Kriikku Pekka Kuusisto RÃ©ka Szilvay Linda Brava heavy metal Nordic music rock band jazz hip hop dance music Bomfunk MCs Darude electronic music SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings Schlager dance music Tango music music of Argentina Toivo KÃ¤rki Olavi Virta Sauvo Puhtila Reino Helismaa Vexi Salmi Jimi Tenor JS16 DJ Orkidea Amorphis Children of Bodom HIM (band) Impaled Nazarene Lordi Nightwish Sentenced (band) Sonata Arctica Stratovarius Tarja Turunen The 69 Eyes Negative (glam-rock band) MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 Heavy metal music hard rock United States cello metal Apocalyptica Metallica cover version cello Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus CMX (band) Billy Gould Faith No More rock music Hanoi Rocks Andy McCoy The Rasmus Dead Letters Music recording sales certification In the Shadows (song) MTV Europe Lordi Eurovision Song Contest 2006 HIM (band) Tuska Open Air Metal Festival Kaisaniemi Helsinki Erkki Karu 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Finland	Is Matti Vanhanen the Prime Minister of Finland?	yes	data/set2/a4	Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name. ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people, spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority. Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance. Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime. Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income. Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region. According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples). Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth" Janhunen, Juha. In " Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007 It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West. ibid. Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years. ibid. . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish. ibid. The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border. Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892. Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards. In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists. On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia. In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations. After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956. The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union. The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape). The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country). Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century. [[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Detailed map of Finland. See also: Atlas of Finland]] Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year. The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â and 16.5 h). All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation. Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland. The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks. The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. Provinces of Finland The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right): #Southern Finland #Western Finland #Eastern Finland #Oulu #Lapland #Ãland Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces. The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007). Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions. Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture. In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. :Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu. The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. Most of the Finnish people (92 percent ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds. A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority. The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population. Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent ) and Estonian (0.3 percent ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish). and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See . Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution. The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province. The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent). A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals. According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll, 41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being. Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor. After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world. The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki. Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. The state flag of Finland The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office. Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007. The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council). After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows: After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy. Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials. Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training. The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market. Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011. Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants. Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry Finland's third-largest industry burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not. Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable. Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company. Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins). The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success. Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK. In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent. The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world. Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland. Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports. The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the Silja Line and Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and Turku to Mariehamn and LÃ¥ngnÃ¤s, Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), * Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Rostock (Germany) * EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden). There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland. Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005. The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry. Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan. Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy. Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg. Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture. Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study. There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino. After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular. The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto. Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware. Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music. Sami music The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation. Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava. Modern Finnish popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene, in common with other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers, and dance music acts such as Bomfunk MCs and Darude. Finnish electronic music such as the SÃ¤hkÃ¶ Recordings record label enjoys underground acclaim. IskelmÃ¤ (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning hit) is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Finnish popular music also includes various kinds of dance music; tango, a style of Argentinean music, is also popular. One of the most productive composers of popular music was Toivo KÃ¤rki, and the most famous singer Olavi Virta (1915â1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila (born 1928), Reino Helismaa (died 1965) and Veikko "Vexi" Salmi are the most remarkable authors. The composer and bandleader Jimi Tenor is well known for his brand of retro-funk music. Notable Finnish dance music artists include Bomfunc MCs, Darude, JS16, and DJ Orkidea. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, HIM, Impaled Nazarene, Lordi, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tarja Turunen, The 69 Eyes, and Negative, ("Best Finnish Act" MTV Europe Music Awards 2007) Negative "Best Finnish Act" in European MTV Awards 2007 , have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 1990s, and have been gaining popularity rapidly in the United States since the late 1990s. In the later 1990s the cello metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover versions as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s. Arguably one of Finland's most domestically popular rock groups is CMX. Although this group is not widely known outside of the country, bassist Billy Gould of popular U.S. rock group Faith No More produced CMX's 1998 album Vainajala. Ravelin, Antti. "CMX Biography." AOL Music. One of the most influential musical contribution to international rock music is the band Hanoi Rocks, led by guitarist Antti Hulkko, aka Andy McCoy. Another rock band to enjoy commercial success is The Rasmus. After eleven years together and several domestic releases, the band finally captured Europe (and other places, like South America). Their 2003 album Dead Letters sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single "In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. Most recently, the Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. So far the most successful Finnish band in the United States is HIM; they were the first band from Finland to ever sell an album that was certified gold by the RIAA. Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, one of the largest open-air heavy metal festivals in the world, is held annually in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927. Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki KaurismÃ¤ki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi MÃ¤kelÃ¤ and Klaus HÃ¤rÃ¶. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland. Linus Torvalds, a famous Finnish software engineer, known for his contribution to the Linux operating system. Finland is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 200 newspapers; 320 popular magazines, 2,100 professional magazines and 67 commercial radio stations, with one nationwide, five national public service radio channels (three in Finnish, two in Swedish, one in Sami); digital radio has three channels. Four national analog television channels (two public service and two commercial) were fully replaced by five public service and three commercial digital television channels in September 1, 2007. Each year around twelve feature films are made, 12,000 book titles published and 12 million records sold. 79 percent of the population use the Internet. Finns, along with other Nordic people and the Japanese, spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Finland is Helsingin Sanomat, with a circulation of 434,000. The media group SanomaWSOY behind Helsingin Sanomat also publishes the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat and commerce-oriented Taloussanomat. It also owns the Nelonen television channel. SanomaWSOY's largest shareholder is Aatos Erkko and his family. The other major publisher Alma Media publishes over thirty magazines, including newspaper Aamulehti, tabloid Iltalehti and commerce-oriented Kauppalehti. Finland has been at the top of the worldwide Press Freedom Ranking list every year since the publication of the first index by Reporters Without Borders in 2002. Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television license and private television broadcasting license fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier). The people of Finland are accustomed to technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 â first in the world â and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population. Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007, i.e., about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet. Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home. Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Today, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades. All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays. In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics. 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. Various sporting events are popular in Finland. PesÃ¤pallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu SelÃ¤nne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami HyypiÃ¤ are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players. Relative to its population, Finland has been the number one country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions â Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika HÃ¤kkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus GrÃ¶nholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi MÃ¤kinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing. Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti NykÃ¤nen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in KitzbÃ¼hel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions. Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890â1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897â1973) and Ville Ritola (1896â1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse VirÃ©n (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others. In Finland also, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen was the greatest strength athletes in the country, they competed in the World's Strongest Man beetwen 1993 and 2000. Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running and skiing. List of Finns Suuret suomalaiset a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004. Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture. A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. : Lists List of cities and towns in Finland List of Finns List of Finnish companies List of Finnish television stations List of newspapers in Finland List of universities in Finland List of bands from Finland List of Finnish wars History History of Finland Finlandization *Finnish Railway Museum Politics Foreign relations of Finland Military of Finland *Gun politics in Finland Runeberg's tart is a Finnish pastry available on the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday on February 5. Infrastructure Education in Finland Communications in Finland Crime in Finland Transport in Finland Fire fighting in Finland VR Group (Finnish State Railways) Culture and sports Cuisine of Finland Music of Finland Football in Finland Ethnic issues in Finland Miscellaneous Protected areas of Finland Tourism in Finland :The following list contains a maximum of three years per survey. For a more complete list, see International rankings of Finland. Jason Lavery â The History of Finland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations), Greenwood Press 2006 (ISBN 0-313-32837-4) (ISSN 1096-2905) Deborah Swallow â Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (ISBN 1-55868-592-8) Richard D. Lewis â Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (ISBN 1-931930-18-X) Max Jakobson â Finland in the New Europe (ISBN 0-275-96372-1) William R. Trotter â A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 (ISBN 1-56512-249-6) Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen â A History of Finland (ISBN 0-88029-260-1) Chris Mann â Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 (ISBN 0-312-31100-1) Insight Guide: Finland (ISBN 981-4120-39-1) Matti Klinge â Let Us Be Finns: Essays on History (ISBN 951-1-11180-9) Lonely Planet: Finland (ISBN 1-74059-791-5) * Jaakko Rusama, Ecumenical Growth in Finland. (ISBN 951-693-239-8) Fred Singleton â A Short History of Finland (ISBN 0-521-64701-0) Allen F. Chew â The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War (ISBN 0-87013-167-2) Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen â The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 (ISBN 0-8117-2433-6) Jean-Jacques Subrenat â Listen, there's music from the forest; a brief presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (ISBN 952-92-0564-3) Government * The Finnish Government â Official governmental site The President of Finland â Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland Parliament of Finland â Official Parliamentary site Finland's EU Presidency â Official site of Finland's EU presidency (June 1, 2006 â Dec 31, 2006) Parliament's Centennial â 100 years of Finnish democracy â Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006â2007 Overviews * Finland: A Very Brief Introduction Statistics Finland â Finland in Figures EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Online â Finland's country page Finland Forum â active discussion forum for Foreigners in Finland International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â Events and information for English speakers in Finland History * EuroDocs â History of Finland: Primary Documents Tourism & Maps * Virtual Finland â Main portal to Finland (administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) Visit Finland â The official travel and tourism guide by the Finnish Tourist Board Finland.com â a gateway to tourist services and facilities in Finland Helsinki.fi â Capital of Finland's city portal Helsinki Expert â a multi-purpose travel agent and a destination management company for Helsinki Today's weather by the Finnish Meteorological Institute Eniro Maps from Finland helicopter view of Finland WikiMapia and Google Maps satellite view of Finland Miscellaneous * Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland Genocide in Soviet Karelia: Stalin's Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia Washington Post's Finland Diary blog The Finnish Heritage Museum of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA 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