Скачать с ютуб Seed dispersal in elephant dung and a greater lesson in elephant digestion в хорошем качестве

Seed dispersal in elephant dung and a greater lesson in elephant digestion

Adine shares a look at the amazing use of dung in seed dispersal... The seeds from sicklebush pods which the elephants love to munch on pass through their guts and into their dung, allowing the plant, which already germinates extremely easily, to be carried across the bush and start a new journey of growth in the dung and earth. The majority of whatever an African elephant eats, seeds and all, is likely to be deposited many many kilometers away roughly 22 hours later. Studies using indigestible rubber rings, orange peels or chromium-mordanted fibres, show this mean retention time (MRT) or, in other words, the length of time it takes for ingested food to travel from trunk to tail. Those interested in elephant behaviour can judge the size and age of any elephant based on the dung it has left behind. Perhaps not the most sought-after job, looking through elephant dung, but because of the low digestion a lot of information regarding their diet and eating habits can be gleaned from these droppings, including stress levels and what the elephant had for breakfast. According to one of our elephant experts, Prof. Eddie Webb from the University of Pretoria, the roughage in an animal's diet is vitally important, just like in humans and without it, an animal can become depressed. Such is the importance of a full and complete diet. Read more in our blog: It takes guts to raise a baby elephant... | Elephant Digestion - https://herd.org.za/it-takes-guts-to-...