Elephants can incur serious injuries that would mean death in wild. If the injured elephant is lucky enough to be rescued it may have a chance to survive. But what happens to elephants that are injured so seriously that amputation of a limb is the only course? In a number of cases, prosthetic devices have been developed which enable the elephant to live, albeit in captivity. Ellie, the elephant in the image is a young elephant in Malaysia that was caught in a snare and had to undergo a partial amputation of her front leg. Because she is growing the prosthetic device has to be modified frequently which is expensive. Now there is a new non-profit organization that is trying to help elephants like Ellie by raising funds to cover the cost of prosthetic devices for amputees. They also hope to develop a universal prosthetic device that will be more cost-effective. Visit their website here: elephantprosthetics.org

We have updated lists of elephant publications on our Elephant Publications Database page ( https://www.elephantcare.org/database). New additions are a list of all 2023 publications in our database and updates on tuberculosis, EEHV, welfare and tourim, and human-elephant conflict.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/15/asian-elephant-mrna-vaccine-houstonendotheliotropic-herpesvirus-eehv-aoe

Photo credit:  A. Christy Williams / WWF-Canon   https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg64y133702o

This fascinating study found that elephants can call each other by name – something previously thought to be unique to humans. Read about the research here: https://elephantvoices.org/latest-news-updates/enewsletters/like-us-elephants-have-names-too

Every year hundreds of elephants die on roads and railways in Asia. The ways that these structures are designed though can mitigate these losses. The Asian Elephant Transport Working Group (AsETWG), a joint collaboration of IUCN SSC AsESG and the IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group has released “Handbook on Mitigation for Roads and Railways in Asian Elephant Landscapes”. The Handbook aims to provide specific recommendations and design criteria for Asian elephant-specific crossing structures and additional mitigation measures. The handbook is available on the AsESG website (https://www.asesg.org/PDFfiles/Asian-Elephant-Handbook_AsETWG_2024.pdf).

Opinion: By Hollis Burbank-Hammarlund Member, Elephant Care International Support Team Director, Work for Wild Life International I am a believer in science to help me navigate and make sense of the world. It's vital to my work as an elephant health and welfare specialist at Work for Wild Life International. I work closely with Asian elephant veterinarians, researchers, physiologists, biologists, behaviorists and those who provide hands-on care to elephants living in captivity. I’ve learned so much from them over the years. When it comes to the issue of riding elephants, it’s easy to get swept up into the emotional controversy expressed across social media platforms. Horrific images and stories of elephant abuse and exploitation (which do sadly exist in far too many elephant camps) can hurt your soul and push you towards a rigid, black and white conclusion that all riding is bad. But good science tells us otherwise. (See link to article below). In fact, science tells us that exercise and movement from responsible riding (coupled with responsible elephant care*) can be beneficial to captive elephants’ bodies and their minds. In a perfect world, elephants would not live in captivity and their fate would not depend on tourism. But they do and it does. As elephant care providers, stewards, advocates, and tourists, I believe we owe it to elephants to use good science to help us provide the best, most enriching lives to the elephants living under human care. So while we continue to fight for improvements in elephant tourism and expose neglect and abuse, let's collectively evolve in our thinking and doing. Let's dismiss the notion of black and white rules for all elephants living in captivity. That kind of thinking does not serve them well. Let science--together with the deep, abiding compassion that lives within us as elephant welfare advocates--be our guide. Hollis Burbank-Hammarlund Founder/Director Work for Wild Life International LINK: The Complexities of Elephant Riding: A Balanced Perspective, by Asian Captive Elephant Standards (ACES) https://www.elephantstandards.com/post/the-complexities-of-elephant-riding-a-balanced-perspective *The Five Freedoms: Good Elephant Welfare • Freedom from hunger and thirst • Freedom from discomfort • Freedom from pain, injury and disease • Freedom to express normal behaviour • Freedom from fear and distress

Read more here: https://phys.org/news/2024-03-asian-elephants-dead-calves.html?fbclid=IwAR3eFZPr9UOLKYanUyLFfkApWyIwSy4sSSvGLzOvLnGRNoDk9dityRJ6HMY

Read more here: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/a-massive-elephant-could-be-more-empathetic-than-a-human

The calf snuggles next to his mother after they were re-united. Read the full story here: Elephant calf separated from herd in India is reunited with mother

Artificial intelligence is in the news almost every day. AI buffs might want to read how AI and machine learning has application to elephant conservation. The article is open access – just click on the title to access. Elephants and algorithms: a review of the current and future role of AI in elephant monitoring. Brickson L, Zhang L, Vollrath F, Douglas-Hamilton I, Titus AJ.J R Soc Interface. 2023 Nov;20(208):20230367. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0367. Epub 2023 Nov 15.PMID: 37963556 Free PMC article. Review.

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