Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
Interesting

The Mystery Of The Smoking Elephant Has Been Solved

IANS, 30 Mar, 2018 02:15 PM
    The puzzling image of a wild elephant seemingly enjoying a quiet smoke in a video that has gone viral may have a simple explanation for its odd behaviour.
     
     
    Varun R Goswami, elephant biologist and senior scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), India Program, said that in all probability, the elephant was trying to ingest wood charcoal, as she appeared to be picking up something from the burnt forest floor, blowing the ash away that came along with it in her trunk and consuming the rest.
     
     
    Charcoal has well recognised toxin-binding properties which attract wild animals, a WCS statement added.
     
     
    It can also serve as a laxative, thereby doubling its utility for animals that consume it after forest fires, lightning strikes or controlled burns, it said.
     
     
     
    The video was shot by Vinay Kumar, assistant director, WCS India Program, in the Nagarhole National Park in Karnataka in April 2016 when a WCS team was involved in a project monitoring tiger and prey.
     
     
    Kumar said that though he felt there was something unique about the elephant and the smoke when he was shooting the video, he forgot about the episode later.
     
     
    Recently while checking his records, he stumbled upon the video again: "I discussed it with Goswami, and it was then decided that we would release it."
     
     
    The video has been shared on social media sites and the elephant's behaviour debated at length across international agencies and publications in recent days.
     
     
    This is the first known video-documentation of a wild elephant exhibiting such behaviour, and thus had scientists and experts puzzled, a WCS statement said, adding that it provides new insights into the behaviour of wild elephants.

    MORE Interesting ARTICLES

    Singer Halsey's Powerful Poem On Multiple Sexual Assaults Leaves Netizens Dumbfounded

    Singer Halsey's Powerful Poem On Multiple Sexual Assaults Leaves Netizens Dumbfounded
    Fighting for equal rights at the Women's March in US, singer Halsey shared vivid details of multiple sexual assaults in a powerful poem titled A Story Like Mine — and echoed sentiments faced by thousands of women across the globe.

    Singer Halsey's Powerful Poem On Multiple Sexual Assaults Leaves Netizens Dumbfounded

    Chinese Woman, 38, Pays 5 Million Yuan To Marry A Man 15 Years Younger

    Chinese Woman, 38, Pays 5 Million Yuan To Marry A Man 15 Years Younger
    A woman recently paid a sum of five million Yuan in dowry to marry a man 15 years younger in China's Hainan Province.

    Chinese Woman, 38, Pays 5 Million Yuan To Marry A Man 15 Years Younger

    Justin Trudeau Wore Rubber Ducky Socks And People Have Some Strong Feelings About It

    Justin Trudeau Wore Rubber Ducky Socks And People Have Some Strong Feelings About It
      We all know how awesome Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is! Be it celebrating Pongal and Sankranti with Indian-origin people, or wishing Diwali greetings in Hindi, Trudeau is known to do something unique and peculiar, that gives us an 'Oh Wow' moment!

    Justin Trudeau Wore Rubber Ducky Socks And People Have Some Strong Feelings About It

    Someone Called This Sikh Man’s Turban ‘Bandage’ So He Matched It To His Roll Royces For A Week

    Someone Called This Sikh Man’s Turban ‘Bandage’ So He Matched It To His Roll Royces For A Week
    This fascinating tale is about Reuben Singh, CEO of AlldayPA, and founder of Miss Attitude, a clothing brand (now defunct) that was popular back in the 90's in the UK.

    Someone Called This Sikh Man’s Turban ‘Bandage’ So He Matched It To His Roll Royces For A Week

    Woman Assaulted in Nightclub Goes to the Hospital, Discovers Doctor Is Assaulter, Gets Beat Up Again

    Woman Assaulted in Nightclub Goes to the Hospital, Discovers Doctor Is Assaulter, Gets Beat Up Again
    The medic is seen in a shocking video battering Anastasia Dmitrieva for a second time in the treatment room of the hospital in Neryungri, eastern Russia.

    Woman Assaulted in Nightclub Goes to the Hospital, Discovers Doctor Is Assaulter, Gets Beat Up Again

    WATCH: 'Smart' Japanese Hotel Opens Offering Guests Self-parking Slippers And Intelligent Furniture

    WATCH: 'Smart' Japanese Hotel Opens Offering Guests Self-parking Slippers And Intelligent Furniture
    In Japan, where old traditions are constantly being updated with new technology, one inn is making use of automated driving technology to offer the latest in hands-free hospitality -- self-driving slippers.

    WATCH: 'Smart' Japanese Hotel Opens Offering Guests Self-parking Slippers And Intelligent Furniture