WIP WIP Asian-African Elephant project

[MEC4D]

Also something you might be interested in there was only one document Mega tusker female in Africa. She was 65 ish years old give or take.

wow impressive , I did not came across this one yet , thanks!

 

[MEC4D]

I really had no idea there is so much variations in elephants.

Most people think there are only 2 species of elephants , Asian and African .. but there are 3 main species and 4 subspecies with own specific variations.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Most people think there are only 2 species of elephants , Asian and African .. but there are 3 main species and 4 subspecies with own specific variations.

Much like birds-- many think there's only about a dozen types of bird, not the over 10,000 different types on the earth today.

I'm excited to see the elephant project picking up some momentum again

 

[MEC4D]

Much like birds-- many think there's only about a dozen types of bird, not the over 10,000 different types on the earth today.

I'm excited to see the elephant project picking up some momentum again

Right ? only in my country of origin there are 475 bird species people don't know exist lol Chicken is the most important bird for most after all ..

Thank you Ken , it is long overdue ., gonna be great ! we are on a mission !
I was thinking about you yesterday , when I saw this pictures .. you picked up my waves ..

 

[Janet]

Right ? only in my country of origin there are 475 bird species people don't know exist lol Chicken is the most important bird for most after all ..

Thank you Ken , it is long overdue ., gonna be great ! we are on a mission !
I was thinking about you yesterday , when I saw this pictures .. you picked up my waves ..

Are they just perching there or do they do something for the elephant by being there I wonder.

Most people think there are only 2 species of elephants , Asian and African .. but there are 3 main species and 4 subspecies with own specific variations.

Yup that's exactly what I thought. Good to know.

 

[Ivory Elephant]

Janet depending on the bird, they pick off ticks and other types of bugs off of the elephant

 

[MEC4D]

Are they just perching there or do they do something for the elephant by being there I wonder.


Yup that's exactly what I thought. Good to know.

Yeah Janet , the skin is very spongy , not what you see from the pictures , lots of stuff inside for the smaller birds .

 

[Miss B]

The bigger birds just hanging on top for a better view and also a safe place.

I bet also a good way to travel distances easily without getting tired from flying.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Janet depending on the bird, they pick off ticks and other types of bugs off of the elephant

Yes, those are oxpeckers. They feed on insects that animals attract. In some African countries, they are credited with actually reducing the tick populations. For animals, like the elephant, oxpeckers are a mixed blessing... yes, they help by gleening the insects from the hide, but they are also guilty of making small wounds in the hide to attract more insects. I have the endangered Red-billed Oxpecker in my Africa set.

The white bird in the picture that MEC4D provided, is a cattle egret (and yes, they get their common name for perching on cattle). They will eat some insects but more often, the animal they are on is just a convenient perching spot.

 

[Chris]

Also something you might be interested in there was only one document Mega tusker female in Africa. She was 65 ish years old give or take.

Yes, I recently came across images of this same animal last week while checking out Super/Mega Tuskers.

Impressive elephant indeed.

 

[Chris]

Cath one other thing about the Asian female elephant. the length of the tusher is dependent on over all health of the elephant and level of testosterone found in the body. Research has shown that females with a higher testosterone level than normal are more aggressive and have slightly longer tushers. Moreover they are slightly larger then the average female. I can't remember the exact number but it was a rare trait.

We will make sure to provide this option.

 

[MEC4D]

Yes, those are oxpeckers. They feed on insects that animals attract. In some African countries, they are credited with actually reducing the tick populations. For animals, like the elephant, oxpeckers are a mixed blessing... yes, they help by gleening the insects from the hide, but they are also guilty of making small wounds in the hide to attract more insects. I have the endangered Red-billed Oxpecker in my Africa set.

The white bird in the picture that MEC4D provided, is a cattle egret (and yes, they get their common name for perching on cattle). They will eat some insects but more often, the animal they are on is just a convenient perching spot.

I remember from some documentary that the oxpeckers do the wounds on purpose , as they call them also the vampires as they love to feed on the blood .. no matter animal or the insects .

 

[Janet]

Yeah Janet , the skin is very spongy , not what you see from the pictures , lots of stuff inside for the smaller birds .


View attachment 73005

Wow I had never before seen a close up of their skin. Not at all like I imagined.

 

[Chris]

Showing a few screen grabs of our African adult female compared to Dusk 2 and the African Bull elephant.

 

[Ivory Elephant]

So what other morphs are instore for this project Chris?

 

[Chris]

So what other morphs are instore for this project Chris?

I've created a bunch of shaping morphs to allow for unique tweaks between animals.

 

[MEC4D]

@Ivory Elephant And of course the babies for the 2 species , this project will not ends by that , this is just only the beginning , but one thing at a time , we don't want to spoil all the surprises , no fun in that ..

 

[Ivory Elephant]

@Ivory Elephant And of course the babies for the 2 species , this project will not ends by that , this is just only the beginning , but one thing at a time , we don't want to spoil all the surprises , no fun in that ..

I know I know... I'm am just really REALLY excited about this project. We will finally have an elephant model that will look good for Daz and I can finally finish my one project that I shelved from 5+ years ago.

 

[MEC4D]

I know I know... I'm am just really REALLY excited about this project. We will finally have an elephant model that will look good for Daz and I can finally finish my one project that I shelved from 5+ years ago.

Trust me , Chris and I are so excited about this project you have no idea .. we want it to be done for "yesterday" so I fully understand your excitement .. there are never wrong questions ! feel free to ask anytime and keep posting new findings and tips and anything related to the topic

 

[Ivory Elephant]

More Elephant facts for you: Pygmy vs Dwarf elephants. Ok so Dwarfism is a rare condition in mega fauna. It is broken up into 2 phenotypes: proportionate and disproportionate. Pygmy elephants found in Borneo are in the proportionate phenotype. Having the same body structure as their larger main species but at a 30 to 45% smaller size difference. Average size of a Borneo Pygmy elephant is between 8.5 feet for the largest recorded bull elephant and 6 feet for the smallest cow. Dwarfism on the other hand is the 2nd phenotype. It is disproportionate. Most noticeably it is the head, and legs of the elephant that are disproportionate parts of the elephant's body structure. Once again the size of the elephant is about the same 30 to 45% smaller.