The elephant is the official National animal of Thailand. The scientific name of the Elephant is Elephas maximus. Thailand’s national animal, Elephant is natively found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in South Asia and Cambodia, China, Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sumatra), Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam in South-east Asia. Generally, the Elephant can divide with the two species, one of which is Asian and other is African.
The Asian species have four sub-species like Sri Lankan, Indian, Bornean and Sumatran. The Thai Elephants are belonging to the Indian sub-species but they are slight differences from other elephants. Mainly they have short front legs, thick body and few smaller in size than the Indian one. In Thai society; the elephants have played a significant role in many aspects. That is why the Thai Kings designated the Thai Elephant as the nation of Thailand. Thai elephant (Chang Thai,) remains as the continuing symbol of Thailand.
National animal of Somalia Facts
- Common Name: Elephant
- Scientific Name: Elephas maximus
- Color: They are usually grey in color, and may be wearing a veil of soil due to dusting and wallowing.
- Length: Length of body and head including trunk is 5.5–6.5 m
- Weight: Males average weight is 4 t and female’s average weight is 2.7 t
- Height: The height of males is 2.75 m while the females are 2.4 m.
- Diet: The Asian Elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. They eat grasses, roots, fruit, and bark. They use their tusks to pull the bark from trees and dig roots out of the ground. An elephant has an appetite that matches its size. According to the National Geographic, an adult elephant can eat 300 lbs. (136 kg) of food per day. They also need plenty of water, which may around 100 liters.
- Cubs: The female elephant give birth to one calf after a gestation period of 18–22 months, occasionally it may twins.
- Behavior: The Asian elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its herd. Adult females and calves may move about together as groups, but adult males disperse from their mothers upon reaching adolescence. Bull elephants may be solitary or form temporary ‘bachelor groups.
- Lifespan: 65 – 75 years
Thailand’s national animal, Elephant has separate names of both male and female. They are identified as; the females are called “cow.” The males are known as a bull, and the babies name calf. The elephants have played a significant role in manual labor, war, royal iconography, and the tourism industry. For thousands of years, elephants were captured and trained to be a form of transport and heavy labor. At the time when logging was legal in Thailand, the elephant hauled heavy logs through forests, which have created a lot of jobs for Thai people.
National animal of Thailand, the elephant has many mythological values. The white elephants are rare and known extraordinary significance. They often well-thought-out sacred and symbolizes royalty in Thailand and Burma, where it is also treated as a symbol of good luck. The elephant was associated with Queen Māyā of Sakya, the mother of Gautama Buddha, which is well described in Buddhist iconography.
It is also an important stature in Hindu mythology. The Hindus worship Ganesha, a deity having a human form and the head of an elephant. Popularly known as Ganapati, which is one of the most cherished and worshiped deities amongst the Hindus. Lord Ganesha’s role in Hindu theology states him to be the remover of all obstacles.
Reference:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/
- https://elephantconservation.org/
- https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/about/facts-about-elephants/
- https://www.thaizer.com/