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INTACH
The heriTage Club NewsleTTer
aPril - JuNe 2012 VOl. 9 No. 2
Enchanting Elephants
Introduction
Hello Green Pals, LET’S LEND A HELPING HAND
In this issue I’ll take you on a MYTHOLOGICAL MENTION
royal ride. This journey will take
Declaring the elephant as a national
you into the heart of the jungle, In ancient India, a ruler would
heritage animal was initiated by the
into the life of someone be bestowed with the title of a
who is very lovable… government largely to hasten up the
chakravartin or the supreme ruler
procedures in order to protect them. an if he owned many elephants. It is
elephant Task Force was set up by the widely believed that Lord Buddha
government to look into how to secure came into the womb of his mother
the future for elephants in india. apart in the form of an elephant with six
from declaring the elephant as a national tusks. As per the Jain tradition,
all the mothers of the twenty-four
heritage animal the task force also set
tirthankaras dreamt of fourteen
up the National elephant Conservation
auspicious objects one of which
authority (NeCa) for their protection. as
was an elephant.
per the reports of the task force, there
are over 25,000 elephants in the country.
Hi, I’m Velan the elephant,
These include 3,500 that are either in the
I was born in the Nilgiri hills in a
zoos or in the temples especially in the
large herd led by a tusker.
southern and the north-eastern parts of
We were a close
A majestic gait and a royal appeal,
our country.
mammoth size and an unmatched knit group and
gentility-elephants are just very I was very well looked after.
different and distinct from any SAVE THE GIANT
I still remember the way
other animal you know – a family led
by a matriarch, love and care for The IUCN has listed the Asian elephant I rolled in the mud and
the young ones, rites for the dead as being endangered since 1986, as the splashed water over others.
elephant population has declined by at
are some of the things that make
Life was fun! I loved eating
least 50% over the last 60-70 years.
elephants rather human-like. Illustration by:
They have been threatened by loss of tender bamboo shoots and
G. Venkatesan, SSVM
In Sanskrit an elephant is known habitat and poaching for ivory. the wild sugarcane Hr. Sec. School,
as a ‘gaja’. Elephants find mention
that grew in the forest. Thiruvanmiyur,
in several Hindu, Buddhist as well
Chennai
as Jain scriptures, and who does Those days will remain evergreen
not know of the association of Lord in my memory.
Ganesha with a gaja.
A. Prithika Std. 6 Revoor Padmanabha Chetty’s
The elephant has always enjoyed Matric Hr Sec School, Chennai
a significant status in the Indian
Illustration by: Bhuvna Arora,
social, cultural as well as religious Std. 7, DPS, Sector 45, Gurgaon
milieu over several centuries. They
have been the royal carriage of the CONTENTS
kings and the aristrocracy, part of enchanting elephants 1 elephants in the Jungle 5,6,7,8
religious rituals and warfare.
elephant encyclopedia 2 activities 4 u 9, 10
So let’s set out to discover more
about this gentle giant. The gentle giants 3 heritage News, subscription Form 11
The era gone by 4 Prize winners, what’s Next? 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Elephant Encyclopedia
The name for a
The elephant is Male elephants leave Elephants consume as group of elephants
the largest of all the herd between the much as 495 pounds is a herd
land mammals ages of 12 and 15 of food per day
African elephants
Elephant can live up
have bigger
to 70 years
Elephants spend ears than Asian
An adult male is referred to about 16 hours a elephants
The tusks of a male
as a bull, while the female is a day eating
elephant are actually
cow, and the baby elephant is
enormously enlarged
a calf.
incisors
Look at the
happy mom with her
baby marching
along
A fully grown adult An adult male Asian
The average size of male Asian elephant elephant weighs
a litter is just one reaches the height of about 11,000 pounds
elephant 10 feet
DID YOU KNOW
19th century Americans
ELEPHANT
used the expression
Hi Pals, ‘seeing the elephant’ to
ADVENTURES
describe an exciting, new
I am Gaju the little
adventure.
elephant and I live at the deep
end of the forest just behind those
hills. We live in a large group but it is
TEARy-EyED
my old grandmother who is the leader
of the group. Since I’m very young When stressed, elephants are
the whole group takes turns to look known to shed tears. Research
has also revealed that this
after me. I need ........................
animal can die of grief, and
......................................................... we thought only humans are
capable of having such
Complete Gaju's autobiography
emotions !
in 100 words.
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VOl. 9 No. 2
The Gentle Giants
Besides being the strongest and the largest creature on land, what is it that makes elephants so awe-inspiring? Is it their
strong family ties which are almost human-like, or the immense love, care and support for the young ones within the herd,
or is the mourning for the dead or perhaps all of these and so much more that makes this animal so widely revered?
ALL IN THE FAMILy
elephants live in large groups or herds that normally consist of
females, babies and young males. The group is always headed
by a female who is also the matriarch. The sick and the wounded
herd members are always helped by other elephants, using
their trunk and shoulders. sometimes the healthy members
within the herd even bring in food for those who cannot move.
elephants are also known to linger by the dead members of
their family and may cover them with branches and mud
– almost like a burial ritual.
ELEPHANT SANCTUARIES -
A SAFE HAVEN?
Illustration by: Syed Amjad, Std. 8, DPS, Sector 45, Gurgaon
since elephants are large
animals, they also need large ELEPHANT CORRIDORS
quantities of food which they
are able to find only after as a result of man-elephant conflict like never
moving over large areas. This before, wild life experts worked towards the
movement varies from season creation of ‘elephant corridors’ or strips of land
to season and could be from that allow elephants to move from one habitat
one state to another. elephant to another. in india there are 88 elephant
sanctuaries or reserves have corridors in india. One of the most important of
thus been planned over these corridors the siju-rewak in the garo hills
large landscapes rather than of Meghalaya has helped protect almost 20%
mere protected areas. Thus of all elephants that survive in the country.
elephant reserves will help in :
long–term survival of a larger elephant population
improve their habitats
RECyCLING AT ITS BEST
lessen the human – elephant conflict
since elephants eat a lot of vegetation and have
SANCTUARy SANCTITy a poor digestive system, elephant dung has a lot
of fiber. so the dung provided by one elephant
situated in Kerala, the idukki wildlife sanctuary is spread over is enough to make 115 sheets of paper and it
an area of about 77 sq km. The sanctuary is famous for its does not smell at all!
elephant population and is hence also called the idukki elephant
Buy Elephant dung products. Be eco-friendly
sanctuary.
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The Era gone by
The earliest depiction of the elephant or ‘gaja’ as it was known in ancient India was
found on the seals excavated from the ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro
of the Indus Valley civilization. Some historians believe that elephants were tamed
and used by humans for peaceful purposes in these ancient cities.
IN THE PAST
Illustration by: Maleha Khan Std. 5, Summer
Fields School, Gurgaon
The greek ambassador Megasthenes who attended the
court of Chandragupta Maurya wrote about the use of THE WAR CRy
elephants during war.
an elephant trained by humans for war was known as a ‘war
elephants have also been used as symbols of might as is
elephant’. guided by human beings these elephants would
evident in the gold coins of King Kumaragupta. Kautilaya too
charge at the enemy , create mayhem –trampling them and
deals with elephant lore in detail in his famous ‘arthashastra’.
breaking their ranks. it is presumed that elephants were
first employed in india. This practise later on spread to other
south-east asian countries
ELEPHANT LITERATURE
ELEPHANTRY : A division of war elephants
some treatises that were written in ancient india about
how to look after elephants included Hastayurveda – that
dealt with the health of the elephants and Matangalila
by Nilakantha. a text titled ‘Gajasastra’, focusses on the ELEPHANTS IN ARCHITECTURE
training of elephants.
elephants occupy a
special place in the
GAMES GALORE
life and art of india.
whether it is the
using elephants in war over the years has had a huge
elephant figures in
impact on the cultural legacy of countries round the globe.
Mahabalipuram or
elephants in war became an integral part of many traditional
the Kailash Temple
war games. Chaturanga - an ancient indian board game from
in ellora, elephants
which modern chess eventually developed had its bishop
occupy a distinct place
Mahabalipuram
being called 'gaja' as part of the game.
in both in indian art as
well as architecture. it is depicted in architectural sculpture
at temples, monasteries, forts, and palaces. elephant figures
SET ASIDE FOR THE MOUSE
flank entrances, are engraved on pillars and columns and
capitals and even stand at stairways.
an elephant keeper noticed a captive elephant regularly set
aside grain for a resident mouse !
DEVOUT GAJARAJ
ELEPHANT COUNT
Perhaps the most well known elephant of Kerala is the
In 2007-08 the total count of wild
guruvayur Kesavan. Over 3.2 metres tall, he was known for
elephants in India was 27694.
his devout behaviour. Kesavan died on Guruvayur Ekadasi
Out of these there were 9330 in the
considered to be very auspicious. it is said that he fasted the
north east, 2633 in the east, 1726 in
entire day and dropped down facing the temple with his trunk
the north and 14005 in the south.
raised seeming like he was bowing to the presiding deity.
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VOl. 9 No. 2
Elephants in the Jungle
Elephant in many ways is the king of the jungle. The elephant herd is feared
even by a tiger. When moving together they are stately and graceful.
Student entries have many interesting points too, read on…..
The tusks of an elephant are not canines as elephant is a
grass-eating animal. among asiatic elephants only the
males have tusks. The females have them either hidden in
The elephant's sense of smell is really heightened, they are
the mouth or just six inches outside. These are called tushes.
believed to locate underground water by smelling the earth
it is surprising that some asian male elephants don’t have
above.
tusks and are known as makna.
Lekshmi JS, Std. 7, Sree Narayan Public School, Thiruvananthapuram
Shwetang D. K. Ghanekar, Std 7, People’s High School, Panaji, Goa
elephants can vacuum up hundreds of pieces of fruits from
under a single tree, and then deposit the fruits they have
an elephant drinks with its trunk. The trunk sucks up
eaten with a generous helping of fertilizer – in the guise of
water from a stream or a water hole. Then the elephant
elephant dung. another side effect of their fruit – rich diet is
squirts the water into its mouth. an elephant uses its trunk
that they probably defecate around 17 times per day.
to take a shower.
Kumar Monu, Std. 6, Bridgeford School, Ranchi
Nirali D. Mehta Std. 9, Shree Satya Sai Vidyalaya, Jamnagar
elephants can communicate over long distances by producing
apart from their trunk, the ears of an elephant are a subsonic rumble that can travel over the ground faster than
unique too. They use these to funnel in sound waves from sound through air. elephants receive the messages through
the environment. the sensitive skin on their feet and trunks.
Afreen Khan, Std. 10, Sunway Sr. Sec School, Rampur A. Aparajitha, Std. 8, Akshara School, Kakinada
The demand for ivory combined with habitat loss due to
Two programmes have been set up to collect more human settlement has led to a dramatic decline in elephant
information about the illegal killing of elephants under the population in the last few decades. Today, there are not more
CiTes-MiKe (Monitoring the illegal killing of elephants) and than 30,000 to 40,000 elephants left in the wild.
eTis (elephant trade information system). Ayushi Ashthana, Std. 9, Gwalior Glory High School, Gwalior
Praney Handa, Std. 6, Bhavan’s SL Public School, Amritsar
elephant's trunk is made up of 40,000 muscles.Their trunk
helps them to lift very heavy objects and even a tree!
india is home to 50 - 60% of all of asia’s wild elephants and Deepak Dhiman, John Martyn Memorial School, Dehra Dun
about 20% of the domesticated elephants.
raja gaj the largest asian elephant stood at 11.3 feet ! he was
G. Haravind, Std. 11, S.R.M. Hr. Sec. School, Chennai
discovered in bardia park in Nepal.
Kamlesh Std. 8, Shri Ajit Sr Sec School Sirohi
elephant's like to cool off by playing in mud and water.
The mud dries up on their skin and this protects them
from the sun. They regularly flap their ears for better blood
circulation and to keep them cool.
Saurav Pal, Std. 11, Springdale Senior School, Amritsar
The elephant's skin which appears tough and leathery is in
fact extremely sensitive and needs care. bathing, wallowing
in mud and tossing dirt over themselves cools their skin
Illustration by:
and acts as a sunscreen. Manan Sharma, Std. 6,
Kong Hong BC Aily, Std. 10, Bethesda Hr Sec School, Nagaland DPS, Sector 45, Gurgaon
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
elephants communicate through a variety of sounds, some Elephants are Social !
vocally and other tapping or stamping on the ground.
Jhanvi Sahni, Std. 4, Ryan International School, Gurgaon.
Just like we held our parents hand when we were children,
baby elephant also holds its mother’s tail while walking !
The asian elephant can easily move through swamps or climb
Rithisha M, Std. 8, ACTS Sec School, Bengaluru
mountainous terrain that is even difficult for a horse. Their
heart beats 28 times a minute.
The weight of a three month
Richa Kumar, Std. 9, Pine Hall, Dehradun.
old elephant is about
200 kgs and they cannot
because of their high intelligence level, elephants can adapt see anything for a while.
to a variety of habitats that include forest, woodland, savanna, however, the elephant family
grassy plains, swampy areas and sparsely vegetated deserts. leads and protects the young
one using their special sensory
Akash T. Std. 6, Sri Prakash Synergy School, Peddapuram, A.P.
powers.
G.Hariraj – Std. 8, Revoor
elephants walk about 4 miles (6.4km) per hour, but can Padmanabha Chetty’s Matric Hr Illustration by: B Saranya Devi, Std. 8,
charge at a speed of 30 miles (48km) per hour. They cannot Sec School, Chennai SRMHSS Ambattur, Chennai
jump and so cannot pass barriers too wide or too high to step
over; however, they swim well. each elephant has three mahouts called pappan in Malayalam.
Prakhar Jain, Std. 8, G.D. Salwan Public School,Delhi The main job of the mahout is to bathe and massage the
elephant with small rocks and the husk of coconuts. in
monsoons elephants undergo ayurvedic treatments that
in the same way that humans are left or right handed,
include decoction with herbs etc. it is called Sukha Chikitsa in
elephants are left or right tusked. The dominant tusk is known
the Malyalam language.
as the major tusk, and is usually shorter than the other tusk.
Vaibhavi, Std. 7, Athmakuri Rama Rao School, Hyderabad
Binal Modi, Std. 8, Tripada Day School, Pragatinagar, Ahmedabad
Temple elephants all over Tamil Nadu usually have 48 days
elephant is the only mammal that can’t jump !
of vacation during the month of December. Moved to their
elephant teeth can weigh as much as nine pounds each !
natural environment the forest, they are provided with food
Gayatri, Std. 4, Little Ones Public School, Delhi and treated for any infections.
No work is given to them so
as much as 80% of what elephants consume is returned to that they can rejuvenate.
the soil as barely digested highly fertile manure.
B. Yogeswaran, Std. 7, Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalaya, Puducherry
Sreya. Y, Std. 9, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Hyderabad 
Man–elephant conflict is on
the rise. some elephants
die of electrocution, some
also die of train accidents
especially through the hilly
regions where the trains ram
into them. if we don’t disturb
elephants, they won’t disturb
Guess the PRODUCT us either.
Illustration by: Ankit Sahoo, Std. 7, DAV
FROM THE Logo R. Mithun, Std. 9, Shree Baldevdas
Public School, Bhubaneshwar
Kikani Vidyamandir, Coimbatore
F _ _ _ _ _ _
Let us work for the continuity of these
magnificient creatures on this planet.
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VOl. 9 No. 2
Mythology and Celebrations with Elephants! 
legends state that the first elephant emerged from the
churning of the ocean. The ‘gaja’ has served as the carriage
for various gods, the most prominent being ‘Airarvata’ the ten
tusked, snow white elephant, the regal bearer of the god of
gods, indra.
Vibhavari Nori, Std. 10, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Hyderabad
in bhaagvat Puran, Vishnu rescues the king of elephants
gajendra from the jaws of the crocodile. The king of
elephants surrounded by cow elephants is a metaphor for
the sensual delights of the world - the crocodile representing The Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala is the grand elephant
the bondage of materialism. liberation comes when the procession renowned for the colourful display of decorated
elephant raises its trunk and offers a lotus to the lord to be and adorned elephants.
liberated from the bondage of materialism.
Kritika Bansal, Std. 10, Army Public School, Ambala Cantt.
V. Lavanya Std. 9, Sri Sankara Vidyashramam Mat. Hr. Sec. School,
Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai
in Tibetan buddhist art, one often comes across images
Once brahma, the creator of our universe took a cosmic egg, of Mahaakaal (another name for shiva) standing upon an
split it into two halves. From the egg in his left hand emerged elephant-headed demon. some believe that he is Gajaasur,
8 male elephants and these elephants supported the earth the demon of materialism.
from 8 directions and were Ushni Dasgupta, Bluebells School International,Delhi
thus called the ‘Ashta-dig-
gajas’.
in islamic tradition, the year 570, when Prophet Muhammad
Riddhima Yadav, Std. 11, Vasant
was born, is known as the year of the elephant.
Valley School, Delhi
M.Samira Banu,Std. 8, Alpha English Higher Sec School, Puducherry
There was a very famous
elephant in Mahabharat
Kalidasa, a famous indian poet wrote a poem 'Meghaduta'
named Supratika whose
in which he symbolically likens the mountains and clouds
master was bhagadatt.
to elephant.
Neither bhagadatt, nor his
elephant could be hurt in Suchi Sharma, Std. 7, Navy Children’s School, Vishakhapatnam.
the battle. he was killed
by arjun through Vaishnav
Astra in Mahabharat on the Illustration by: Mansi, Std. 6 Summer guess
Fields School, Gurgaon
12th day.
my name
V. Lavanya, Std. 9,Sri Sankara Vidyashramam Mat. Hr. Sec. School,
Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai A _ _ _
eight elephants or vasus hold up the four quarters of
the universe on their backs, leading to the concept of
Vasundhara or the Mother earth. Owing to their shape and
colour, elephants are regarded as 'rain clouds' that walk the
earth, with the power to produce rain.
Vishesh Kulkarni Std 7, School-People’s High School, Goa
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DID YOU KNOW
Elephants in History
Research on elephant history revealed
that elephant fossils were found in all
continents except for Antarctica
elephants are loved, revered, groomed and given a prestigious
and Australia.
place in india’s culture.
H.Gunapriya, Std. 9, Matriculation Hr. Sec.
Sahil Vashishtha, Std. 11, Sh SN Sidheshwar Sr. Sec Public School, Gurgaon
School, Ambattur Chennai
it is thought that elephants were first used in war around
Once I dreamt of meeting an elephant calf who was
1100 b.C. with an elephant named Aswathamma.
crying as his mother had been poached. I gave him
D. Shikara Reddy, Std. 9, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Hyderabad shelter.
Soon we became pals. Everyday, I sat on its back
in the context of the history of ancient india, the earliest and had a graceful ride. He often splashed water
depiction of Gaja is found on seals discovered at sites of the over me!
indus valley civilization (3000 b.C. – 1700 b.C.). We swam, sang, danced and ate bananas and
Chinmay Kanannvar, Std. 5, KLE School, Dharwad sugarcanes together and shared each other’s sorrow.
Over the years, he turned fifty and we celebrated
Kuru’s capital hastinapur also meant ‘the city of elephants’ this extravagantly.
NP Akshara, Std. 6, Revoor Padmanabha Chetty’s Matric Hr Sec School, Those days were of fun and
Chennai
frolic. But…… one day, he
again came to me crying and
war elephants in india were used from
Oh!!!
the 1st millennium bC to early
He had no tusks. Poachers
19th century a.D.. apart from
had taken away his ivory
being on the battlefield, they
while he was alive!
also transported soldiers,
ammunition and other Poorti Kumari Chaubey, Std. 10,
supplies over rough Army Public School, Ambala Cantt Illustration by:V. Jayadivya, Std.
9, BVBARS, Hyderabad
terrain where men
found it difficult.
V Chitra, Little Angels School, DID YOU KNOW
Visakhapatnam
“Our Lord the elephant, Chief of the ways
of God” eloquently says Rudyard Kipling.
at the famous battle of Illustration by: Riya Singh, Std. 5,
Revered by folks, eulogized by poets, this
Summer Fields School, Gurgaon
hydaspes in July 326 bC
delightful, bewitching and enchanting
between alexander the great and
creature is truly God’s special creation.
Porus, it was Porus’s elephant who saved his life by taking his
wounded master away from the battleground. Kritika Chopra, Std. 8, Summer Fields School,
Gurgaon
Sharma Harshvardhan, Std. 9, Shri LG Haria School Jamnagar
Oh! My enchanting elephant, you have the strength
it was not until the introduction of muskets in mid 1700 aD,
of thousand and ten yet you humbly bow and serve
the elephants were no longer needed to fight in the front
the men. You are the only animal the tiger fears, there
lines of battle.
is nothing that can harm you, yet today you are on the
B. Sindhura Sai, Std. 9, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School
verge of extinction.
V Sneha Deepthi, Std. 9, Subha Niketan School, Kakinada
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VOl. 9 No. 2
Activities 4 U
Start a campaign to SAVE THE ELEPHANT in your
school /city.
You could even paint a shirt or a dress with an
elephant motif like the one given here.
Illustration by: Noel Chengalath,
Std. 8, The British School,
Delhi
Illustration by: Saemi HA, Std. 8, Illustration by: Gayatri Belwal, Std. 8, Illustration by: Min Hyeong, Std. 8,
The British School, Delhi The British School, Delhi The British School, Delhi
So while you try your hand at painting a Tshirt, you could even try and make your own elephant
mask or a painting or a greeting card. All you need is some colourful chart paper, newspaper,
colours, brush and a string !
Follow these steps and you’ll have an elephant mask ready
Draw and cut a large round outline on a thick chart paper. Make sure this is larger than
your face. Cut out tiny elephant eyes on this towards the middle and two tiny holes for
the string to pass through.
Similarly cut a large outline of the ears – these should be large, remember an elephant
has large flapping ears.
Now colour the face and the ears and paste the ears to the two sides of the elephant
face.
To make the trunk, take a large newspaper, colour it blackish grey, and fold it lengthwise
along the centre so that the coloured part faces outward.
Ensure that one end of the trunk is broader than the other and that the tip of the trunk
is narrower.
Now pleat the trunk just like a fan. You could start at either end and leave the pleats
loose.
Separate the two edges as shown in the diagram so that the pleats form a V shape.
Now press the pleats together at the V and invert the pleated V.
Press the broader end of the V to the round face that had been cut and kept aside.
Put a string through the tiny holes and tie it at the back of your head.
Your mask is ready.
So how does it feel to be called ‘elephant headed’ !
Acknowledgement: Centre for Environment Education
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Activities 4 U

.
s
d answer the questionhe question correctly. Elephants are able to digest a. 5% of what they eat b. 40% of what they eat Move ahead by 5 steps. The elephant’s gestation period isa. 22 months b. 12 months If you get the answer right, take 3 small steps The average age of an elephant is abouta. 50-70 yearsalt Lickb. 100 yearsFinishIf you are right then all you need to do is take one step
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gin from stay if you answ Elephants love to lie in squishy mud to cool down as they don’t have a. sweat glands b. taste buds Answer & take a huge 7 step lead.
el
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ka
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ih
the salt lnt move a Elephant tusks can weigh over. Answer his and take 6 stepsa. 90 kg b. 20 kg
h t
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a
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p the elephant r can help the ele How much water can an elephant drink in a day. Answer & move 4 steps a. 190 litresb. 100 litres The elephant care-giver is known as a. Masseur b. Mahout If you know the right answer then take 5 steps ahead
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