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A Dwarf Elephant With Outsized Attitude

The dwarf elephant first documented in the wild in Sri Lanka in 2013 is only five feet tall at the shoulder.  (Brad Abbott)
The dwarf elephant first documented in the wild in Sri Lanka in 2013 is only five feet tall at the shoulder. (Brad Abbott)

The world’s first documented wild dwarf elephant, who was seen briefly in 2013 before vanishing again, is alive and well, according to Pruthu Fernando, from the Centre for Conservation and Research in Sri Lanka.

At just five feet at the shoulder, the existence of the dwarf elephant surprised researchers. And so did his attitude.

Vicki Croke from WBUR’s The Wild Life blog joins Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson to tell us more.

When the dwarf elephant reappeared this year, he was again full of fight, taking on another, much larger male. Video courtesy of UdawalaweElephants.

[Youtube]

Interesting to hear the biologist’s reaction during this short video when he first sees the dwarf elephant in 2013. Video courtesy of UdawalaweElephants.

[Youtube]

Reporter

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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