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<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello animal-loving
folks,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial size=2>This was an
interesting article from the Guardian, Vaalea.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you can find the
time, I suggest everyone send in a comment about space and living
conditions for the 600 elephants living in captivity in the US to <A
href="http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oId=196068&msource=DR061005001&tr=y&auid=2110715"><FONT
face=Arial
color=#000000>http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oId=196068&msource=DR061005001&tr=y&auid=2110715</FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial>.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial size=2>Elephants in
captivity often suffer due to inadequate space, unnatural conditions, lack
of exercise and social deprivation. Poor conditions lead to a
range of preventable health issues, including painful arthritis, foot disease,
reproductive and digestive disorders and neurotic behaviors like swaying and
head bobbing. The poor things!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial size=2>Cheers for the
elephants!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=801411900-02112006><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Edelweiss</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
4animals-bounces@ottawaveg.com [mailto:4animals-bounces@ottawaveg.com]<B>On
Behalf Of </B>vaalea<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, October 31, 2006 9:54
AM<BR><B>To:</B> 4animals<BR><B>Subject:</B> [4animals] Elephants pass mirror
test of self-awareness<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow"><A
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1935538,00.html"><FONT
color=#330066>Elephants pass mirror test of self-awareness</FONT></A><BR><I><A
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1935538,00.html">http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1935538,00.html</A></I></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow"><I>Alok Jha, science correspondent<BR>Tuesday
October 31, 2006<BR>The Guardian<BR><BR>Elephants have been found to recognise
themselves in a mirror, putting them in an exclusive club of self-awareness
whose other members are great apes (including humans) and bottlenose
dolphins.<BR><BR>"The social complexity of the elephant, its well-known
altruistic behaviour and, of course, its huge brain, made the elephant a
logical candidate species for testing in front of a mirror," said Joshua
Plotnik, a psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta, who led a team whose
study was published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences.<A name=cutid1></A><BR><BR>An 8ft mirror was put in the elephant
enclosure at the Bronx zoo in New York and a watch kept on its three
inhabitants. The first question was if they greeted their reflection as if
meeting another individual - they did not make this mistake, and used the
mirror to inspect themselves, for example, moving their trunks to look at the
inside of their mouths.<BR><BR>"Elephants have been tested in front of mirrors
before, but previous studies used relatively small mirrors kept out of the
elephants' reach," Dr Plotnik said. "This study is the first to test the
animals in front of a huge mirror they could touch, rub against, and try to
look behind."<BR><BR>Inspecting the mirror and trying to look behind it - as
did the Bronx elephants - is another indicator of self-awareness. One of the
three also passed the "mark" test when painted in a place it would normally be
unable to see. It touched the paint mark on its head after looking in the
mirror.<BR><BR>Diana Reiss of Columbia University in New York said that the
research helped explain the society in which elephants lived: "Humans, great
apes, dolphins and elephants, well known for their superior intelligence and
complex social systems, are thought to possess the highest forms of empathy
and altruism in the animal
kingdom."</I><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML>