AboutJonathan Wright Expertise I can answer questions about wild mammals, as well as other wild animals. I can also answer questions on extinct animals and zoos.
PLEASE DON'T SEND ME ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PETS. IF YOU ARE REALLY WORRIED, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A VETERINARIAN. PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THAT UNPAID PEOPLE ON ALLEXPERTS ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY AND WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH ADVICE THE MOMENT YOUR ANIMAL GETS ILL. Find out how to look after a pet before you get it. It is unfair to keep an animal in inappropriate conditions and give it the wrong food. If you can't keep an animal in good conditions, please don't bring it into your home. I'm not a vet and I don't have any expertise in animal medicine and care. I don't agree with people taking animals out of the wild and then expecting other people to give free advice on how to look after them. It is cruel to take animals away from their parents, who are able to look after the babies and may look for them, while putting their other babies at risk. You may need a licence to look after some animals. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals; please check with a local wildlife organisation.
IF YOU FIND AN INJURED ANIMAL, PLEASE CONTACT A WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN OR CHARITY AND LET TRAINED STAFF LOOK AFTER THE ANIMAL. DO NOT TRY TO LOOK AFTER AN INJURED ANIMAL IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Please do not remove eggs from nests. The mother birds will know the right temperature for the eggs and will not sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them (check details on websites) to see if the eggs are fertile. If the eggs are not fertile, they will not hatch.
I do not agree with fights between different animals. Please do not ask me questions about them.
Experience I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two years old. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.
Organizations World Wide Fund for Nature. Zoological Society of London. London Bat Group.
Publications Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group
Education/Credentials BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' levels in Zoology and Chemistry. 'O' Level in Biology.
Your first question is quite controversial. Many people believe that humans are the only animals to show emotions such as sadness, but many scientists believe that other animals show these emotions. There are many cases of Indian elephants crying and producing salt tears, as do humans. Jeffrey Masson and Susan McCarthy wrote ‘When Elephants Weep', which mentions several accounts of animals showing various emotions.
http://www.aquaticape.org/tears.html discusses Elaine Morgan's aquatic ape theory. This is the idea that humans went through an aquatic phase in their evolution. Many scientists also believe that elephants went through a similar phase and that shedding salt tears is a way of balancing the concentration of salt within the body. The website says that the lachrymal glands cannot concentrate enough sodium in order to excrete it. It seems that sodium occurs at the same level in tears as in plasma, but the concentration of potassium is 4 times higher in tears as it is in plasma and the manganese concentration may be 30 times higher in emotional tears as it is in plasma. Emotional tears may contain a higher concentration of protein than is found in irritant tears. Crying may help to eliminate prolactin, ACTH, Leucine-Encephalin and manganese.
Florence Lambert (http://members.aol.com/nonverbal3/cry.htm) says that William Frey discovered that emotional tears contain the neurotransmitters leucine-enkephalin (this is an endorphin or natural opiate-like substance used to relive pain) and prolactin (which the pituitary glands releases when the animal is in emotional stress). The site suggests that tears may help the body to alleviate stress and to cleanse itself of toxins.
http://www.wisegeek.com/do-animals-cry.htm says that most vertebrates can produce tears to keep their eyes healthy. The lachrymal system contains tissues that make water, including tears. Land mammals evolved tears to replace the water surrounding the eyes of aquatic animals. Tears clean dirt away from the cornea and keep it moist. Tears contain high levels of nutrients and their anti-bacterial properties help to fight infections. The salt in tears helps create an osmotic balance within the eye.
I'm sorry if this is somewhat confusing, but I've tried to strike a balance between the lobby that elephants only cry because their eyes are irritated and those people who say that elephants cry because they are expressing their emotions. Whatever the situation, elephants shed tears due to the stimulation of the lachrymal glands to secrete water. Tears are used to cleanse the eye and/or to release various chemicals to benefit the elephant.
Your second question is much simpler. Elephants eat grass, as well as edible parts of trees and shrubs, including leaves, fruits, flower buds and the woody branches, roots and bark. African elephants prefer eating grass in the rainy season, but also eat herbs and fruit. Asian elephants eat mostly bamboos and other grasses, palms, fruit, stems, climbers and other forest plants. They may eat bananas, paddy, sugar cane and other cultivated crops.
