Jezebel: Elephants

Smarty-Pants Elephant Knows How To Make A Step-Stool

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:19:00 EDT

Kandula the elephant is being called a "giant genius." And he does seem pretty clever! He lives in an enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo, where jerky researchers put bamboo and fruit just out of his reach. Kandula was smart enough to push a cube over and use it as a step. And when they took away the cube, he used a tire. Which means, like dogs and most of the people I know, he's totally motivated by food. More »

Adorable Orphaned Elephant Receives Prosthetic Foot

Whitney Jefferson — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:10:00 EDT

When baby elephant Chhouk was found starving and abandoned in the Cambodian wilderness four years ago, he was missing his front left foot. His injuries — sustained because of those pesky poachers — left him with severe balance issues and unable to fully walk. Happy ending time: He was eventually fitted for a prosthetic foot. His rapid increase in size requires a new prosthetic every year. They grow up so fast, don't they? More »

Reese Witherspoon's Career Highlight Involves An Elephant

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST

Though she has acted alongside respected thespians such as Joaquin Phoenix, James Purefoy and Luke Wilson, working with a pachyderm for Water For Elephants was "one of the best experiences of my career," says Reese Witherspoon.

Sometimes An Elephant's Eye Isn't All That High

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:27:00 EST

[Germany, January 24: Newborn elephant babies Shavu and Uli, from left, enjoy their first get together at the zoo in Wuppertal, Germany. Uli was born a week ago Sunday, and Shavu arrived last Thursday at the zoo. Image via AP.]

Adorable Baby Elephant Plays On The Beach

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:15:00 EST

Particularly dreamy since we are currently wearing two sweaters and surrounded by snow. More »

Two Elephants From San Diego Arrive At Los Angeles Zoo

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:56:00 EST

Tina and Jewel, two Asian elephants on loan from the San Diego Zoo, have been transferred to their new home at the Los Angeles Zoo. They'll soon join Billy, another elephant, in a six-acre, $42 million exhibit opening December 16. More »

Meghan McCain's Book Cover Features 'Sexy' Elephant

Anna North — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:55:00 EDT

Meghan McCain's book Dirty Sexy Politics comes out in August, and the cover has been revealed! You'll be happy to know that it's appropriately faux-sexual, featuring an elephant getting a little handsy. Or trunky? Whatever: it's weird. More »

Hey Baby, Hey Baby, Hey

Hortense Smith — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:50:00 EDT

[Sydney, July 4. Image via Getty.]

Operation Dumbo Drop Kick

Hortense Smith — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EDT

[Ceperdown, June 20. Image via AP.]

Elephant Escapes Circus To Swim & Shop

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:40:00 EDT

Last night in Switzerland, a circus elephant named Sabu escaped from her handlers and went swimming in Lake Zurich, then "ambled along the posh Bahnhofstrasse shopping street." After an hour-long chase through city streets, she was captured unharmed. [BusinessWeek] More »

The Elephant Whisperer

Anna Holmes — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:10:00 EDT

[London, May 24. Image via AP]

Octomom Wants You To Neuter Your Pets; Elephant Poop To Be Used As A Power Source

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:00:00 EDT

• Today in irony: Nadya Suleman — she of the eight babies — is being paid by PETA to advertise their spay and neuter campaign on her front door. More »

Elephant & Castle

Anna Holmes — Tue, 04 May 2010 09:10:00 EDT

[London, May 4. Image via Getty]

Mini-Me

Hortense Smith — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:45:00 EDT

[Sydney, March 14. Image via Getty.]

TGIF

Anna Holmes — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:50:00 EST

[Sydney, March 12. Image via Getty]

Trunk Show

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:15:00 EST

[Tel Aviv, Israel, December 28. Image via Getty.]

Kristin Davis's Perilous Pachyderm Project

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:40:00 EDT

Last night, Kristin Davis told David Letterman about the time she went to Kenya and got involved in a wildlife drama! A play-by-play of her baby elephant incident - and a missed sex joke opportunity - above. More »

The Elephant In The Womb

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EDT

Human childbirth doesn't seem so bad after watching the video at left (NSFW) of an elephant giving birth at the Elephant Safari Park in Taro, Bali. At least human moms don't kick their babies to make sure they're breathing. [Buzzfeed] More »

Eye Of The Tiger

Anna Holmes — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:10:00 EDT

[Jakarta, August 13. Image via Getty]

Happy Hump Day!

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:50:00 EDT

[Whipsnade, England; July 28. Image via Getty.]

Why Is An Elephant In Barcelona "Depressed"?

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:40:00 EDT

How do you know an animal is depressed? The elephant Susi (pictured), has lived in the Barcelona Zoo for years. Lately? She's "apathetic, her trunk hangs on the ground and she's eating her own excrement." More »

The Heffalumps

Anna Holmes — Mon, 18 May 2009 09:40:00 EDT

What goes around comes around? Lily Allen is on safari...and conflicted about taking pictures of wildlife. "I already feel guilty about exploiting the animals with my camera...reminds me of some c***s I know." [Daily Mail] More »

Stay Cool, Elephant, Real Cool

Hortense Smith — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:15:00 EDT

[Ahmedabad, April 18. Image via Getty.]

Big Foot

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:45:00 EDT

This is Mosha. She lost her leg to a landmine on the Thai-Burmese border. Now she has become the first elephant with a working prosthetic leg. [Zooillogix] More »

Pampered Pachyderms

Dodai Stewart — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:20:00 EST

Check out what goes on in northern India when the temperature drops: The elephants get hot oil massages. Yes, that's right: jumbo beauty treatments. Clip embedded after the jump. [Reuters] More »

Pachyderms Rise Up Down Under

Anna Holmes — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:10:00 EST

[Sydney, Australia; January 6. Image via AP]

Elephant Nurses Best Dog Friend Back To Health

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:40:00 EST

When elephants retire to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, it's common for them to befriend a fellow elephant. But one elephant, Tarra, has befriended a dog named Bella. More »

The Elephant In The Room

Anna North — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:30:00 EST

Elephants in zoos live less than half as long as their leathery siblings in the wild, according to a new study. More »

Lindsay's Still In Love; Madge Sues The Mail

Jessica G. — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST

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Lindsay Lohan says that she and Samantha Ronson are still going strong, and if they were to break up, we'd hear it from the mouths of babes, or rather, Lindsay's MySpace blog. "all in all-[paparazzi] should just stop asking altogether, once and for all if she and i are broken up because frankly, if we ever ever did…. i would say it before they could even think of asking. i'd say it here probably… i say everything here on myspace." [Perez ]
Madonna is suing the British tabloid Mail on Sunday for publishing photos of her wedding to Guy Ritchie. Yes, the wedding took place 8 years ago, but for some reason, the Mail printed the photos on October 18th of this year, and now Madge wants £5 million because the photos were stolen from her Beverly Hills home. Is Madge really that hard up for cash these days? [BBC]

Baby Babar

Jessica G. — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:20:00 EST

Who wants to see a newborn baby elephant lolling about in the sand at a German zoo? If you do, click on the pic of a different, equally adorable wee pachyderm. [Reuters via Videogum] More »

Horton Hears A Poo

Maria — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:20:00 EST

Elephant dung is so hot right now: press releases for the upcoming DVD release of Horton Hears A Who! are all printed on paper made from recycled elephant poop. (The paper is meant to impart economic value to Sri Lankan elephants, which are often killed because they compete with local farmers for space.) But it's not just press releases: the dung is also selling like hot cakes in India, where it is used as a cheap mosquito repellent. If only we could find a way to turn the shit slung by the modern GOP into a force for good. [Outside Blog, Hindustan Times] More »

Happy Hump Day!

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:10:00 EDT

Ivory Towers

Sadie Stein — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:50:00 EDT

In the past year, poachers in Congo have killed a fifth of the Savannah elephants in Virguna National Park. In the past ten days alone, Rwandan rebels have killed seven of the elephants in Virunga, along Congo's eastern border with Rwanda and Uganda."We've definitely lost 20 percent of the population this year and probably more," said a park ranger. "We have rangers with them, and we're trying to reinforce them. But (the rangers) are outnumbered 20 to one." Conservationists believe that today only 300 elephants remain in what was once the world's largest population of Savannahs. A large part of the problem is a growing demand for ivory in China, which last month was granted permission by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species "to buy 108 tons of ivory stocks from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe," allowing poachers to sell the stolen ivory on the legitimate market. [Reuters] More »

The Elephant In The Room

Maria — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:40:00 EDT

What happens when wild elephants BEGIN destroying farms and homes in areas where the human population is encroaching onto the elephants' natural habitat? Turn other elephants against them! The Flying Squad is a group in Indonesia that uses four domesticated and specially trained elephants (2 male and 2 female) to "patrol" villages to keep rambunctious wild elephants at bay. The Flying Squad works in conjunction with the World Wildlife Foundation to help avoid human-elephant conflicts in the region. So basically, it saves both human and elephant lives. Good news for everyone involved. [National Geographic] More »

Is It Time To Leave Yet?

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:15:00 EDT

Is It Winter Yet? Check The Panda Poo

Jennifer — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:00:00 EST

Winter is almost here (two days, folks!) and your toes are cold. What about the critters? An article in today's Washington Post explains about how zoo animals deal with cold temperatures. Most beasts adopt the same measures in captivity that they do in the wild: Some grow thicker and longer coats — or like deer, grow a different color coat that does a better job of retaining body heat. And it's easy to tell when the pandas are ready for winter: Their shit changes color. Cute (and unrelated) panda video from Japan above, and more Post stuff about panda poop after the jump. More »

Designer Marc Jacobs Is Something Of A Narcissist

Jennifer — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 10:00:00 EDT

So all that time at the gym bashing John Galliano paid off! Such that Marc Jacobs saw it fit to run nude photos of himself in the latest issue of the tres exclusif magazine Visionaire in honor of his guest editing stint. [WWD, 1st item]

Our Mother's As Cold-Hearted As Anna Wintour

Anna Holmes — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:04:57 EDT

Once in a while we get emails from our mothers (when we're on speaking terms with them, that is!) about issues of importance in the world, like the genocide in Sudan, the fact that New Orleans is being ignored, and whether Bush 43 is back on the sauce. These emails make us feel bad, mostly because we spend all day writing about things of less importance and then avoiding our mothers' phone calls because we're too busy preparing to write more of the same the following day. More »

"Jane" Editor To Cut Her Hair Short, Start Nagging

Anna Holmes — Tue, 22 May 2007 19:45:48 EDT

Jane Magazine's Brandon Holley got hitched. Like two weeks ago! [Gawker]

Vogue Magazine: Oh The Irony Of It All

Anna Holmes — Tue, 22 May 2007 17:27:03 EDT

We just came across this item, which references the horrible Keira Knightley/baby-elephant spread in the new issue of Vogue. For those of you who haven't seen it, the item is essentially a collage of the above image with a handwritten note reading "Maybe if they knew how to accessorize they wouldn't be going extinct?" One thing we'd like to make clear: As much as we enjoy Fashionista, we are animal-loving women (though not animal-loving enough to stop eating meat! We're working on it, people!) and we're feeling really, really fucking pissy about that Vogue spread. So we'd like to make a few points. One: Elephants aren't "going extinct", they're being hunted (and driven) to extinction. A subtle difference, yes, but an important one. Two: The baby elephant pictured above was orphaned, probably because its mother was slaughtered for her ivory. How's that for championing the luxury goods market? Now, back to shopping! More »