Old Elephant

[Anton Dsilva]

Shot in darkness-7pm. Thought I should share this becuase the naturalist Basavanna from jlr mentioned that this is the oldest elephant in bandipur.

Fuji x100; 23mm prime; f2; 1/125; ISO 4000

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Nice tusks. The tip of the left tusk seems to be broken. I had not noticed this earlier. These days we see very less tuskers. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Suraj Sreedhar]

Nice angle.Hope the light was good

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice tusks. Broken portion of the tusk well documented.This elephant carries horizonally thick tusks, say, about 3 feet long from the gums and are evenly curved.Such elephants are usually stout and powerful in their prime.However,such tusks may hinder free movement of head and trunk and are disadvantageous while fighting with the elephants having thin, sharp-pointed,curved tusks.Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

Indebtedness: Writings of M.Krishnan,modified to be precise and picture-specific.

P.S:Anton Bhai:Please see NTCA site.Sambar road within Dhikala tourist zone is closed after finding a tiger cub separated from its mother.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Lovely tusks. Nice that you got it facing you. Wish the light was better. Is there a bluish tint to the image (not sure)? Slightly more space at the top would be good. Did you try a vertical? Thanks for sharing.

[Ranjit Rao]

These days we see very less tuskers.

Are you saying there is a lot of poaching happening ? Or is there any other reason ?

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Good question.
I am not an expert.Where have I seen Male elephants with huge tusks ? Manas comes first.Almost wiped out.Corbett comes second followed by Kaziranga.Some are still there because of better protection. In Palamau also I saw large tusker .Almost totally wiped out.I have no field experience about Bandipur,Mudumalai or Periyer.When I see the photographs of such tuskers in south taken during 60's and 70's by famous naturalists and compare them with pictures posted by our friends ,you will understand my inner feeling.
Rampant poaching of males with large tusks in 80's,90's,may be thereafter has taken its toll.
A cow elephant becomes adult and capable of breeding at around 16 years of age.An young bull becomes adult at the age of around 20.The elephant reaches its prime from 30 to 40 years of age.Cow elephants become mothers till around 55 years of age.
Numbers of large tuskers during 80's and 90's came down drastically. The females did not get males in their prime with large tusks,in common, to give birth to future large tuskers. How will you get male elephants with large tusks,common earlier, now in plenty?A generation has been affected.
The genetic factor,I think, is also responsible and now visible.
Shri Sabyasachi may kindly excuse me for conveying my views.SaktiWild

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It is a fact that most of the large tuskers have been wiped out. After Veerappan, the poaching still continues. Now the gangs are targeting elephants in Orissa. Historically some of the finest elephants and mahouts were from Orissa. Ranjit Singh's elephant brigade was led by an odiya.

The development of tusks is also important and is dependent on the food supply. With the forests isolated by human habitations and ravaged by invasives, the quality and quantity of food for elephants have become limited. The health of elephants is also impacted by the quality of water. Elephants are susceptible to waterborne diseases. And polluted water has an impact on them. You find the build of tuskers to be good in areas where the food and water supply is good.

Long back, I had seen some impressive tusks in Similipal, when I was sitting alone in a waterhole in the night. I still remember those moments. A sight which fills you with awe, reverence and love.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Ranjit Rao]

Thank you guys.. I think to sum it up, what's more important is that, we atleast see elephants now