African Elephant Facts

African Elephant Facts The African elephant (Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis) is the largest land animal on the planet. Found in sub-Saharan Africa, this majestic herbivore is known for its remarkable physical adaptations as well as its intelligence. Fast Facts: African Elephants Scientific Name: Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotisCommon Names:  African elephant: savannah elephant or bush elephant and forest elephantBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 8–13 feet tall, length of 19–24 feetWeight: 6,000–13,000 poundsLifespan: 60–70 yearsDiet:  HerbivoreHabitat: Sub-Saharan AfricaPopulation: 415,000Conservation Status: Vulnerable Description There are two subspecies of African elephant: savanna or bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). African bush elephants are lighter gray, larger, and their tusks curve outwards; the forest elephant is darker gray in color and has tusks that are straighter and point downward. Forest elephants make up about one-third to one-quarter of the total elephant population in Africa. Elephants have a number of adaptations that help them to survive. Flapping their large ears enables them to cool down in hot weather, and their large size deters predators. The elephants long trunk reaches food sources located in otherwise inaccessible places, and the trunks are also used in communication and vocalization. Their tusks, which are upper incisors that continue to grow throughout their lifetimes, can be used to strip vegetation and dig to obtain food. Habitat and Range African elephants are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where they typically live in plains, woodlands, and forests. They tend not to be territorial, and they roam large ranges through several habitats and across international borders. They are found in dense forests, open and closed savannas, grasslands, and in the deserts of Namibia and Mali. They range between the northern tropics to the southern temperate zones in Africa and are found at the oceans beaches and on mountain slopes and elevations everywhere in between. Elephants are habitat modifiers or ecological engineers that physically alter their environments affecting the resources and changing the ecosystems. They push over, debark, break branches and stems, and uproot trees, which causes changes in tree height, canopy cover, and species composition. Studies have shown that the changes generated by the elephants are actually quite beneficial to the ecosystem, creating an increase in total biomass (up to seven times the original), an increase in nitrogen in the content of new leaves, as well as an increase in habitat complexity and food availability. The net effect is a multilayered canopy and a continuum of leaf biomass supporting their own and other species.   Edwin Godinho / EyeEm  /  Getty Images Diet Both subspecies of African elephants are herbivores, and most of their diet (65 percent to 70 percent) consists of leaves and bark. They will also eat a wide variety of plants, including grass and fruit: Elephants are bulk feeders and require an enormous amount of food to survive, consuming an estimated 220–440 pounds of forage  daily. Access to a permanent source of water is critical- most elephants drink frequently, and they need to obtain water at least once every two days. Elephant mortality is quite high in drought-affected regions. Behavior Female African elephants form matriarchal groupings. The dominant female is the matriarch and the head of the grouping, and the rest of the group consists primarily of the females offspring. Elephants use low-frequency rumbling sounds to communicate within their groupings. In contrast, male African elephants are mostly solitary and nomadic. They temporarily associate with different matriarchal groups as they seek mating partners. Males assess each others physical prowess by play-fighting with one another. Male elephants behavior is linked to their musth period, which typically takes place during winter. During musth, male elephants secrete an oily substance called temporin from their temporal glands. Their testosterone levels are as much as six times higher than normal during this period. Elephants in musth can become aggressive and violent. The exact evolutionary cause for musth is not definitively known, though research suggests that it may be linked to the assertion and reorganization of dominance. Reproduction and Offspring Elephants are polyandrous and polygamous; mating happens year round, whenever females are in estrus. They give birth to one or rarely two live young about once every three years. Gestation periods are approximately 22 months long. Newborns weigh between 200 and 250 pounds each. They are weaned after 4 months although they may continue to take milk from the mothers as part of their diet for up to three years. Young elephants are tended by the mother and other females in the matriarchal grouping. They become fully independent at the age of eight. Female elephants reach sexual maturity at about 11 years of age; males at 20. The lifespan of an African elephant is typically between 60 and 70 years.   Patrick Robert - Corbis  /Getty Images Misconceptions Elephants are beloved creatures, but they arent always fully understood by humans. Misconception: Elephants drink water through their trunks. Truth: While elephants use their trunks in the drinking process, they dont drink through it. Instead, they use the trunk to scoop water into their mouths.Misconception: Elephants are afraid of mice. Truth: While elephants may be startled by the darting movement of mice, they have not been proven to have a specific fear of mice.Misconception: Elephants mourn their dead. Truth: Elephants demonstrate an interest in the remains of their dead, and their interactions with those remains often seem ritualistic and emotional. However, scientists have not yet determined the precise cause of this mourning process, nor have they determined the degree to which elephants understand death. Threats The main threats to the continued existence of elephants on our planet are poaching, habitat loss, and climate change. In addition to overall population loss, poaching removes a majority of bulls over the age of 30 and females over the age of 40. Animal researchers believe that the loss of older females is particularly acute, as it impacts the social networks of elephant herds. Older females are the repositories of ecological knowledge who teach calves where and how to find food and water. Although there is evidence that their social networks are restructured after the loss of the older females, orphaned calves tend to leave from their natal core groups and die alone. Poaching has decreased with the institution of international laws prohibiting them, but it does continue to be a threat to these animals. Conservation Status The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies African elephants as vulnerable, while the ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System classifies them as threatened. According to the Great Elephant Census of 2016, there are approximately 350,000 African savanna elephants located in 30 countries. Between 2011 and 2013, more than 100,000 elephants were killed, mostly by poachers seeking their tusks for ivory. The African Wildlife Foundation estimates there are 415,000 African elephants in 37 countries, including both savanna and forest subspecies, and that 8 percent are killed by poachers annually. Sunshine Seeds/Getty Images Sources Blanc, J. Loxodonta africana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T12392A3339343, 2008.Elephant. African Wildlife Foundation.  Foley, Charles A. H., and Lisa J. Faust. Rapid Population Growth in an Elephant Loxodonta Africana Population Recovering from Poaching in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Oryx 44.2 (2010): 205–12. Print.Goldenberg, Shifra Z., and George Wittemyer. Orphaning and Natal Group Dispersal Are Associated with Social Costs in Female Elephants. Animal Behaviour 143 (2018): 1–8. Print.Kohi, Edward M., et al. African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) Amplify Browse Heterogeneity in African Savanna. Biotropica 43.6 (2011): 711–21. Print.McComb, Karen, et al. Matriarchs as Repositories of Social Knowledge in African Elephants. Science 292.5516 (2001): 491–94. Print.Tchamba, Martin N., et al. Plant Biomass Density as an Indicator of Food Supply for Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in Waza National Park, Cameroon. Tropical Conservation Scie nce 7.4 (2014): 747–64. Print. The Status of African elephants. World Wildlife Magazine, Winter 2018.Wato, Yussuf A., et al. Prolonged Drought Results in Starvation of African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana). Biological Conservation 203 (2016): 89–96. Print.Wittemyer, G., and W. M. Getz. Hierarchical Dominance Structure and Social Organization in African Elephants, Loxodonta Africana. Animal Behaviour 73.4 (2007): 671–81. Print.

Making Discipline Decisions for Principals

Making Discipline Decisions for Principals A major facet of a school principal’s job is to make discipline decisions. A principal should not be dealing with every discipline issue in the school, but should instead be focused on dealing with the bigger problems. Most teachers should deal with smaller issues on their own. Handling discipline issues can be time-consuming. The bigger issues almost always take some investigation and research. Sometimes students are cooperative and sometimes they are not. There will be issues that are straight forward and easy, and there will be those that take several hours to handle. It is essential that you are always vigilant and thorough when collecting evidence. It is also crucial to understand that each discipline decision is unique and that many factors come into play. It is important that you take into account factors such as the grade level of the student, severity of the issue, history of the student, and how you have handled similar situations in the past. The following is a sample blueprint of how these issues could be handled. It is only intended to serve as a guide and to provoke thought and discussion. Each of the following problems is typically considered to be a serious offense, so the consequences should be pretty tough. The scenarios given are post-investigation giving you what was proved to have actually happened. Bullying Introduction: Bullying is probably the most dealt with discipline issue at a school. It is also one of the most looked at school problems in the national media due to the increase in teen suicides that have been traced back to bullying problems. Bullying can have a life long effect on victims. There are four basic types of bullying including physical, verbal, social, and cyber bullying. Scenario: A 5th-grade girl has reported that a boy in her class has been verbally bullying her for the past week. He has continuously called her fat, ugly, and other derogatory terms. He also mocks her in class when she asks questions, coughs, etc. The boy has admitted to this and says he did so because the girl annoyed him. Consequences: Start by contacting the boy’s parents and asking them to come in for a meeting. Next, require the boy to go through some bullying prevention training with the school counselor. Finally, suspend the boy for three days. Continuous Disrespect/Failure to Comply Introduction: This will likely be an issue that a teacher has tried to handle by themselves, but haven’t had success with what they’ve tried. The student hasn’t fixed their behavior and in some cases has gotten worse. The teacher is essentially asking the principal to step in and mediate the issue. Scenario: An 8th-grade student argues about everything with a teacher. The teacher has talked to the student, given the student detention, and contacted the parents for being disrespectful. This behavior has not improved. In fact, it has gotten to the point that the teacher is starting to see it affect other students’ behavior. Consequences: Set up a parent meeting and include the teacher. Attempt to get to the root of where the conflict lies. Give the student three days In School Placement (ISP). Continuous Failure to Complete Work Introduction: Many students across all grade levels do not complete work or do not turn it in at all. Students who continuously get away with this may have large academic gaps that after time almost becomes impossible to close. By the time a teacher asks for help on this from the principal, it is likely that it has become a serious issue. Scenario: A 6th-grade student has turned in eight incomplete assignments and hasn’t turned in another five assignments at all over the past three weeks. The teacher has contacted the student’s parents, and they have been cooperative. The teacher has also given the student detention each time they have had a missing or incomplete assignment. Consequences: Set up a parent meeting and include the teacher. Create an intervention program to hold the student more accountable. For example, require the student to attend a Saturday School if they have a combination of five missing or incomplete assignments. Finally, place the student in ISP until they have caught up on all work. This assures that they will have a fresh start when they return to class. Fighting Introduction: Fighting is dangerous and often leads to injury. The older the students involved in the fight are, the more dangerous the fight becomes. Fighting is an issue you want to create a strong policy with strong consequences to discourage such behavior. Fighting typically doesn’t resolve anything and will likely happen again if it isn’t dealt with appropriately. Scenario: Two eleventh grade male students got into a major fight during lunch over a female student. Both students had lacerations to their face and one student may have a broken nose. One of the students involved has been involved with another fight previously in the year. Consequences: Contact both students’ parents. Contact the local police asking them to cite both students for public disturbance and possibly assault and/or battery charges. Suspend the student who has had multiple issues with fighting for ten days and suspend the other student for five days. Possession of Alcohol or Drugs Introduction: This is one of the issues which schools have zero tolerance for. This is also one of the areas where the police will have to be involved in and will likely take lead in the investigation. Scenario: A student initially reported that a 9th-grade student is offering to sell other students some â€Å"weed†. The student reported that the student is showing other students the drug and is keeping it in a bag inside their sock. The student is searched, and the drug is found. The student informs you that they stole the drugs from their parents and then sold some to another student that morning. The student that bought the drugs is searched and nothing is found. However, when his locker is searched you find the drug wrapped up in a bag and tucked in his backpack. Consequences: Both students’ parents are contacted. Contact the local police, advise them of the situation, and turn the drugs over to them. Always make sure that parents are there when police talk to students or that they have given permission to the police for them to talk to them. State laws may vary as to what you are required to do in this situation. A possible consequence would be to suspend both students for the remainder of the semester. Possession of a Weapon Introduction: This is another issue which schools have zero tolerance for. Police undoubtedly would be involved in this issue. This issue will bring the harshest consequences for any student violating this policy. In the wake of recent history, many states have laws in place that drive how these situations are dealt with. Scenario: A 3rd-grade student took his Dad’s pistol and brought it to school because he wanted to show his friends. Luckily it was not loaded, and the clip was not brought. Consequences: Contact the student’s parents. Contact the local police, advise them of the situation, and turn the gun over to them. State laws may vary as to what you are required to do in this situation. A possible consequence would be to suspend the student for the remainder of the school year. Even though the student had no ill intent with the weapon, the fact remains that it is still a gun and must be dealt with severe consequences in accordance with law. Profanity/Obscene Material Introduction: Students of all ages mirror what they see and hear. This often drives the use of profanity at school. Older students especially use inappropriate words often to impress their friends. This situation can quickly get out of control and lead to larger issues. Obscene materials such as having pornography can also be detrimental for obvious reasons. Scenario: A 10th-grade student telling another student an obscene joke that contains the â€Å"F† word is overheard by a teacher in the hallway. This student has never been in trouble before. Consequences: Profanity issues can warrant a wide range of consequences. Context and history will likely dictate the decision you make. In this case, the student has never been in trouble before, and he was using the word in the context of a joke. A few days of detention would be appropriate for handling this situation.