The only mammal that cannot jump at all is the elephant.

Why did Sparta not give the world a single outstanding thinker, artist, artist, but became famous for its strong and brave warriors?

What the founder of eugenics (the doctrine of hereditary

human health and ways to improve it) by Francis Galton, later called positive eugenics. But very soon another trend was formed - negative eugenics. Its adherents believed that it was necessary to prevent the birth of children in people with mental and physical disabilities, alcoholics, drug addicts, and criminals. Negative eugenics was criticized from the very beginning. After all, this kind of "selection" was carried out in ancient Sparta, where weak and sick children were destroyed. The result is known - Sparta did not give a single outstanding thinker, artist, artist, but became famous for strong and brave warriors. History knows many examples when great people had physical disabilities or suffered from severe hereditary diseases, including mental ones. Their parents often did not differ in health - the mother of I. S. Turgenev, for example, suffered from black melancholy, and in the family of L. N. Tolstoy there were patients with epilepsy and schizophrenia. Moreover, it is known that some mental illnesses, the development of which is associated with a subtle, vulnerable mental organization, are genetically associated with giftedness in music, mathematics, and poetry. There is a modern anecdote about this. When academician I. G. Petrovsky, rector of Moscow State University, was shown a list of contraindications for admission to the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, he saw the word “schizophrenia” and was surprised: “Who will do mathematics then?”

Last week, representatives of a number of African and Asian countries agreed to jointly protect elephants. Among other things, the agreement provides for cooperation in the search and arrest of poachers and the expansion of the powers of the environmental departments of the countries of the Black Continent in the fight against criminal gangs that hunt the largest land animals on the planet.

Elephants are in danger of extinction. Every 15 minutes, one elephant dies at the hands of poachers on the Black Continent. If the extermination of the largest land animals continues at the same pace, then by 2025 there will not be a single elephant left in African shrouds.

Tanzania, for example, has already lost half of its elephants in the last three years. In 2009, according to various estimates, from 70 to 80 thousand elephants lived in this African country, that is, almost a quarter of the total elephant population in Africa, and now it is half that.

According to the US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell The trade in elephant tusks, rhinoceros horns, skins and other trophies from illegal safaris has doubled over the past five years to reach $10 billion. In terms of profitability, this type of criminal activity is in fourth place.

Not only animal advocates, but also politicians should fight against poachers. Terrorist organizations are financed with money from the sale of ivory, which in Africa is often called the “white gold of jihad”. Including "Al-Shabaab", sadly "famous" for the recent hostage-taking in a shopping center in Nairobi.

There are the most incredible rumors about elephants. Before defending them, it would be nice to start by understanding where they are true and where fiction.

1. Elephants use their trunks like drinking straws.

Elephants do use their trunks to drink. They actually draw water into their trunks but then transfer it to their mouths. By the way, elephants drink a lot - an average of 140 to 230 liters per day.

2. Elephants love peanuts.

The purest water is a myth, because the largest land animals do not eat peanuts either in the wild or in zoos. Considering the size of elephants, it is not surprising that O most of the time they eat. They spend 16-18 hours a day doing this activity. There is nothing in peanuts that would repel these animals or be contraindicated for them. It’s just that the nuts are very small, and in order to get enough of them, even 25 hours a day will not be enough for elephants.

3. Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

Adult elephants really can't jump, but they're not the only ones who can't. There are many other mammals that also cannot jump. For example, sloths, hippos and rhinos. True, unlike elephants, hippos and rhinoceros can take off all four legs from the ground at the same time while running.

4. Elephants never forget.

The largest land animals actually have excellent, but still not phenomenal memory. Imitation is at the heart of their learning process. They have the heaviest brain among land animals, which weighs 5 kg. After training, they are able to distinguish and carry out over 60 commands. Elephants remember trainers well and can remember them many years later.

5. Elephants are too heavy to swim.

On the contrary, elephants are very fond of water and can detect its smell at a distance of up to 8 km. Not only do they love water, but they are excellent swimmers. There are cases when they used their trunks as breathing tubes for diving.

1. Elephants "hear" with their feet.

Elephants have excellent hearing, but African elephants are also able to pick up the tremors of the earth with the help of special sensitive cells in the soles of their feet. Elephants not only hear the sound, but can also determine the direction from which it comes.

2. The closest relative of an elephant is an animal that looks like a guinea pig.

Gray hyraxes are small, furry, rat-like mammals that live in the highlands of Africa and along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Oddly enough, but elephants and hyraxes do have a lot in common in the structure of their toes, teeth and skull. Biologists believe that they had a common ancestor who lived about 60 million years ago.

3. In Chinese, "ivory" means "elephant tooth."

Although elephant tusks are actually elongated incisors, they do not fall out like humans do. In China, where the ivory trade flourishes, not everyone understands that elephants are killed in order to get it. According to polls, about 70% of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire do not know this.

4. Elephants have unusually thick skin.

The scientific term pachyderm, used to refer to the order of mammals that includes elephants and rhinos, comes from the Greek word pachydermose, which translates as "thick-skinned." Despite its great thickness, elephant skin is unusually sensitive. So much so that the elephant feels when a fly sits on its back.

Elephant skin is not only sensitive but also vulnerable. Elephants can get sunburned and therefore hide in the shade or throw sand on their heads and backs to protect their skin from the sun.

5. Elephants are very sociable and social animals.

The herd of elephants usually consists of 10-15 elephants and baby elephants. It is headed by the most experienced elephant. Having reached the age of maturity - 12-15 years, the males leave the herd and return only to mate with the female. By the way, the process of bearing offspring in elephants is the longest among land animals. Pregnancy lasts 22 months.

Elephants greet each other by carefully touching the interlocutor's mouth with the tip of their trunk. They sleep standing up and only two to three hours. They can't take longer because they have to eat.



Debunking the myth: "The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump"

If "jump" means to lift your body into the air without the help of wings, then any mammal can do it, even whales can jump out of the water. In the usual sense of the word, a jump is associated with the work of the muscles of the limbs. Is the elephant the only four-limbed mammal that can't jump?

Indeed, can elephants jump? If you do not take into account unconfirmed anecdotal stories, then it seems that adults are not capable of this. This fact is not connected with the fact that they have "four knees", or with strict observance of the rules of the game in billiards, when "one foot must always be on the ground." It is explained by the weakness of the animal's muscle strength, which is insufficient to lift a massive body into the air. But in reality, elephants never need to jump. In fact, having no enemies in nature, they do not become an object of persecution, so that, approaching the edge of a gorge or ravine, they can slowly retire along the road they have chosen.

Now let's ask it another way: Are there other mammals that have legs but can't jump? Yes. For example, sloths, in full accordance with their image. So, maybe it's time to reconsider the statement: "The elephant is the only land mammal that has legs, but cannot jump"? Note: sloths must periodically descend into lower tier forests, where, unlike the elephant, they can be endangered. In addition to them, hippos and rhinoceroses are deprived of jumping, which do not know how to do this for the same reason as elephants. But they (do not be afraid to declare this over a mug of beer), rushing like mad, simultaneously tear off all four limbs from the ground, which elephants are not capable of.

CONCLUSION: HEADLINE STATEMENT IS INCORRECT

By the way, in the full-length cartoon of 1980 called " Olympic Games in the world of animals ”(Animalympics), filmed on the basis of documented facts, elephants lift weights, play cricket and even soar into the sky with a pole - but do not take barriers and do not jump in length.



Divers and sharks, French Polynesia

Photo: Tim Mckenna


Before emerging from the water to take a breath of air, the seal looks to see if there are polar bears nearby. These predators are the main danger for her.

Photo: Paul Nicklen


There is a cucumber and baobab flavored Pepsi

Most of the new flavors for Pepsi were made to be tested first for the US and UK markets. But there are also "versions" for other countries. For example, in Japan, unusual taste options are more popular than anywhere else. Pepsi Baobab - with a touch of baobab or Pepsi Shiso - with an extract of perennial grass perilla.

Found via surfingbird.ru/aloha/discovery__world We recommend trying this convenient service!



"Drema". The picture was taken at the Novosibirsk Zoo.

Photo: Maria Gavrilova.


Photographer Alexander Semenov. Inhabitants of the underwater world.

For photographer-diver Alexander Semenov, underwater photography is not exactly a hobby, because he once graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University and studies invertebrates. The photographs from this series were taken in the White Sea.



The moon looks almost the same both from the ISS and from the Earth ...

Photo: NASA


Teriberka river, Murmansk region.

Photo: Aleksandr Bergan

Good night...



Japan bans cats from overworking

The Japanese, who go to cat cafes just for the sake of furry friends, will have to while away the evenings without pets.
Tokyo authorities have released a new law to protect workers ... cats. The officials decided that they should not work after 20:00. It's about about the employees of popular cat cafes, where those who do not have the opportunity to keep animals in their own apartments come to stroke their furry friends.
In overcrowded Tokyo, cat owners with housing problems turned out to be quite a few.

Each of the living beings that nature has created is amazing in its own way. But most people are unaware that elephants are even more interesting than we might have imagined. With the help of our article, you can discover unknown facts about these animals and appreciate them much better.

So let's get started...

1. When an elephant dies, its family takes care of the remains.

2. The size of the ears of African and Asian elephants is significantly different. On average, the ears of African elephants are three times larger than those of Asia.

3. African elephants tend to use their large ears to signal to others or for protection.

4. The amount of waste products of an adult elephant every day is exactly about 35 kilograms.

5. Both African and Asian elephants use their ears as a conditioner.

6. During World War II, the first bombs dropped on Berlin by the Allies only killed an elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

7. An elephant was tried and hanged for murder in 1916.

8. This large mammal can drink about 300 liters of water per day.

9. The smell of water is so familiar to them that the animal can smell it at a distance of almost 5 kilometers.

10. The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump.

11. Each individual has unique ears.

12. They can swim long distances.

13. The pulse rate of an elephant is from 27 beats per minute.

14. Despite having huge ears, elephants have poor hearing.

15. They live to be 70 years old.

A few more facts...

16. An elephant spends about 16 hours a day just on food.

17. Elephants sleep very little. These mammals are known to be able to sleep only 5 hours a night.

18. Elephants sleep standing up.

19. Their trunk has no bones. Its flexibility is provided by more than 150 thousand muscles and nerves.

20. Their skin is very tough, and its thickness is 2.5 centimeters.

21. An elephant is able to control his strength so much that he can lift a raw egg without breaking its shell.

22. Elephants use finger-like appendages at the end of their trunks to scratch behind their ears or dust their eyes.

23. An elephant's trunk can also serve as a hose.

24. To get drunk, an elephant first fills its trunk with about 5 liters of water, and then pours them into its mouth.

25. An elephant can listen not only with its ears, but also with its feet. Elephants communicate with each other using a low rumbling sound, which is almost inaudible, but it creates a vibration in the ground.