After our most exciting trek so far, we were intrigued to see what kind of footage our motion triggered camera traps had recorded deep in the jungle. We are pleased to say that the long trek to retrieve the memory cards was absolutely worth it! We managed to capture something that even our veterinary consultants at the three government run elephant hospitals hadn’t come across before.
On some of the most interesting clips we saw a herd of four male elephants. Sometimes in rare occasions, so called “bachelor groups” can form in male Asian Elephants. This is not completely unheard of, although normally they live in solitude after leaving the female herd in their adolescence. What immediately caught our attention was the extraordinary shape of one young male elephant’s trunk! Take a look at the clip below, and pay attention to the young male appearing at 1:47.
We have never seen anything like this before and were keen to show the video to the veterinaries we work closely with, to get their opinion. The mutual conclusion was that this young male might have been caught in a snare that partly tore his trunk causing the abnormal shape when he was small. The trunk is a multipurpose prehensile organ and is used for breathing, watering, feeding, touching, dusting, sound production and communication, washing, pinching, grasping, defense and offense.
A young male elephant with an extraordinary trunk
Knowing the great importance of the trunk, we are amazed to see that this young male has seemingly learned how to cope with his disability excellently. After all, he looks very healthy and well nourished. We hope that this small special male herd finds its way through the same corridors again, and look forward to continue observing the bachelors’ life in the near future!
We are currently looking for partners to co-operate with our Wildlife Monitoring Project through corporate sponsorship. Would you like to donate a camera trap for recording the amazing wildlife in one of the world’s oldest rainforests? Our nature-loving followers would definitely be thrilled to see the footage!
By gathering information on the flora and fauna in Khao Sok, we believe we can help the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries with their continuous efforts on preserving this unique area. Please contact us at projects@elephanthills.com to discuss the partnership opportunities!
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