Think Dogs Are the Best Trackers? Nope!

Posted on July 21, 2016 by wordcloud9

Elephants Have 2,000 Genes for Smell, the Most Ever Found

 African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana)

According to research published in the journal Genome Research  comparing 14 mammal species, African Elephants have over twice as many olfactory genes as indomestic dogs, and five times more than in humans, who have about 400. The previous record-holder was rats, which have about 1,200 genes dedicated to smell.

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/22/animals-elephants-smell-trunks-genes-africa-science/

African Elephant photo by Beverly Joubert

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Nona Blyth Cloud has lived and worked in the Los Angeles area for over 50 years, spending much of that time commuting on the 405 Freeway. After Hollywood failed to appreciate her genius for acting and directing, she began a second career managing non-profits, from which she has retired. Nona has now resumed writing whatever comes into her head, instead of reports and pleas for funding. She lives in a small house overrun by books with her wonderful husband.
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4 Responses to Think Dogs Are the Best Trackers? Nope!

  1. pete's avatar pete says:
    July 22, 2016 at 1:59 am

    Well, I guess it would have changed “The Defiant Ones” to have Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis chased by someone with a couple of elephants.

  2. wordcloud9's avatar wordcloud9 says:
    July 22, 2016 at 5:15 am

    LOL pete – Yes, they’re not very useful as trackers for humans – imagine an elephant sniffing for drugs at an airport! But if you’re trying to find a particular herd of elephants in Africa, then they’d be far and away your best choice.

  3. Chuck Stanley's avatar Chuck Stanley says:
    July 22, 2016 at 9:38 am

    Baby elephant confused, looking for girl’s nose. What happened to her trunk?

  4. wordcloud9's avatar wordcloud9 says:
    July 22, 2016 at 1:20 pm

    Adorable!

    That is trust – don’t think I could sit there – a NEW-BORN elephant weighs 200+ pounds – these guys could really hurt if they stepped on her.

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