Humans may be the most intelligent species on Earth but animals, the ones who possess seemingly lesser intellect, do not fail to astonish us from time to time. Also, is it just me or do animals behave strangely when they don’t see humans around? It’s like they have their own secret identities.
In a similar stunning turn of events, an elephant was filmed smoking. The video was recorded privately by Assistant Director of Conservation Support and Policy, at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Vinay Kumar – India, in April 2016, but was publicly released only 3 days ago on March 20th.
The video which is posted on the official Facebook page Wildlife Conservation Society- India shows a female elephant aged about 30-35 years, picking something up from the burnt forest floor. It appeared to be smoking the substance, as a huge burst of smoke comes out of its mouth.
The video which was shot in Karnataka’s Nagarahole National Park has left people stunned and perplexed at the actions of the humongous creature. Kinda reminds you of the monkey drinking petrol from bikes, doesn’t it?
But wait! Before you jump to conclusions, let me put your mind at ease by telling you that the pachyderm isn’t actually smoking. Dr Varun Goswami, WCS India scientist and elephant biologist, spoke to NDTV and explained the situation. He said,
“The elephant was trying to ingest wood charcoal. She appeared to be picking up something from the burnt forest floor, blowing away the ash that came along with it in her trunk, and consuming the rest.”
While ingesting wood charcoal is also extremely strange, we apply charcoal on our faces to get rid of blackheads, so who are we to judge?
But, the elephant had a good reason for eating charcoal despite it not possessing any nutrition. Dr Goswami says in the WCS Facebook post that the charcoal acts as a laxative for wild animals and also has other “medicinal properties”, which attracts animals towards it.
You can watch the entire video here:
The Smoking Elephant! This unusual behaviour of an elephant was captured on video from Nagarahole National Park and has us perplexed. Our colleague, Mr Vinay Kumar, was travelling with our field staff in a partially burnt patch of the moist deciduous forests when this elephant appeared in their view. The video he captured has had experts trying to decipher the unique behaviour. The elephant would draw up a trunk full of ash close to her mouth and blow it out in a puff of smoke!Dr Varun Goswami, WCS India scientist and elephant biologist, concludes that likely, the elephant was trying to ingest wood charcoal. She appeared to be picking up something from the burnt forest floor, blowing away the ash that came along with it in her trunk, and consuming the rest. Charcoal has well recognised toxin-binding properties, and although it may not have much nutritional content, wild animals may be attracted to it for this medicinal value. Charcoal can also serve as a laxative, thereby doubling its utility for animals that consume it after forest fires, lightning strikes, or controlled burns of this type.WCS Newsroom | Wildlife Conservation Society
Posted by Wildlife Conservation Society-India on Tuesday, March 20, 2018
I always thought animals are smarter than us, but hardly ever saw it as visual evidence. Why couldn’t we have descended from elephants? That long trunk would have surely come in handy when we were too lazy to get up and get the remote!