For many years elephant jewelry has been a part of the Magic Zoo group of designs.
Elephants are, of course, the largest living land animal. Their elongated trunk makes them completely unique among all other mammals, and is actually an extended, muscular upper lip. It’s used for handling food and other objects, drinking water (the elephant fills up the trunk with water and then squirts it into his mouth), and is a really sensitive organ of smell. It’s also used as a built- in hose for spraying water on the body to cool off.
The digestive system of an elephant is similar to that of a horse. African Savanna elephants eat mostly grasses and some leaves from a large range of vegetation. When the weather is dry and there’s not so much greenery, elephants feed on the woody parts of the plants.
Elephants have a complex social behavior, with bulls and cows living apart among African elephants. A typical family group consists of a group of related females and their youngsters. The oldest female, the matriarch, is the head of the family, which has very strong social bonds.
Elephants have a very long pregnancy- 22 months! The next time one of my pregnant young friends or relatives starts to complain when that 9th month seems to drag on forever, I’ll have a factoid to hand to put things in perspective for her!
There are two species of elephants, the African and the Asian. Both have similar habits, but they’re easy to tell apart, even superficially. The African elephant has enormous ears compared to his Asian cousin.
I think elephants are beautiful and amazing beings. I try to reflect my feeling for them and to honor them in my elephant jewelry. |
