The Life of Last Proboscideans: Elephants

About this book

Language: English

The Proboscidea is a taxonomic order of mammals that includes the elephants and their extinct ancestors. Although only two species of elephant are extant today, more than 160 extinct proboscidean species have been identified from fossilized remains found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. The modern elephants are the "last survivors" of a radiation that once was diverse and widely distributed.

This book explains the life cycle of elephants in clear text and lavish illustrations. It is ready to take you on a journey from their evolution to modern day threats and conservation. Throughout you will get to know that elephants are beyond amazing animals by virtue of their size. They are also among the world’s most intelligent species that have amazed scientists over the years, and still continue to do so. Elephants are expressive creatures that display the emotions such as joy, love, anger, grief, compassion, empathy, anxiety, altruism, mimicry, etc. Their cognition encompasses expressed self-awareness, powerful memory, tool use, language or nonverbal communication, cooperation, etc. Elephants are the only mammals other than modern humans and Neanderthals known to have or have had any recognizable ritual around death. The reader will also be invited to explore their unique behaviour in the wild and their relationship with people.

The order Proboscidea is 60 million years old, extending from the Paleocene. But today species in this order face the greatest challenges to their survival, even in their own habitats. The major threats are human-elephant conflict and ivory poaching.

Customer Reviews