Category: Elephants

The Ivory War Continues: 22 Years After the Ban

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2011 was considered the bloodiest year for elephants since 1989, the same year the ivory ban began.  Confiscated ivory from illegal sales estimate over 3000 elephants were killed by poachers to fuel the black market demand; and that is just what was found.  In a single month, Malaysian authorities seized over $1.3 million US worth of ivory that was being shipped out of Kenya and into Cambodia.  It is well documented that the illegal trade in wildlife and their parts is a multi-billion dollar a year business; third only behind drugs and weapons trafficking.  Trade in rhino horn and tiger …

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A Love For Elephants

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West Virginia University has gone to the elephants!  Not only were Tina and her pachyderm friends highlighted on the homepage of the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, but they were also featured on the West Virginia University main homepage.  In addition, you can find an interview with Tina regarding her research at the following link Inside WVU               

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A Trunk of Love: WVU Doctoral Student Finds Her Calling Researching Elephants

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The story of Tina Dow’s love for elephants began in another story, tucked away in the pages of her first Little Golden Book. Never could she predict that someday she’d work with the same creatures that fascinated her as a little girl. It was the mighty elephant that steered her back onto an academic path. Dow, who grew up in Cumberland, Md., earned her bachelor’s degree in Animal and Veterinary Sciences at West Virginia University in 2002. After graduating, she didn’t know quite what to do. She enrolled in some courses at the University of Connecticut and took an internship at Roger Williams Park …

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Ph.D. Student Conducting Research on African Elephants

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By: Brooke Boening The Daily Athenaeum Shortly upon completing her undergraduate studies in animal and nutritional sciences, West Virginia University Ph.D. student, Tina Dow, discovered a passion that would take her beyond the ordinary work environment – elephants. When Dow landed an internship at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, R.I., in 2002, she quickly developed a fascination with the park’s African elephants. “I had an appreciation of standing beside something that is living and breathing and weighs over 10,000 pounds,” Dow said. “Then to see how intelligent and caring they are – I fell in love.” Today, Dow is …

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WVU Helps Grad Student Follow Dream

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Tina Dow is passionate about a variety of things – traveling, scuba diving, rock climbing – but her one true love will always be elephants. After earning her bachelor’s degree in animal and nutritional sciences from West Virginia University in 2002, Dow spent the next four years trying to find her true career calling. “I interned with several zoos and became a licensed wildlife rehabilitator,” she said. “But I didn’t have any direction of what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to vet school, but I knew I wanted to continue to work with animals. I just didn’t …

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For The Love Of Elephants: WVU Davis College Helps Grad Student Find, Follow Research Dreams

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Tina Dow is passionate about a variety of things – traveling, scuba diving, rock climbing – but her one true love will always be elephants. After earning her bachelor’s degree in animal and nutritional sciences from West Virginia University in 2002, Dow spent the next four years trying to find her true career calling. “I interned with several zoos and became a licensed wildlife rehabilitator,” she said. “But I didn’t have any direction of what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to vet school, but I knew I wanted to continue to work with …

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Elephants Know How To Co-Operate

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By Victoria Gill Science and nature reporter, BBC News In the test, two animals had to work together – each pulling on a rope in order to tug a platform towards them. Elephants’ apparent grasp of the need to co-operate shows, scientists say, that they belong in an “elite group” of intelligent, socially complex animals. Researchers from the University of Cambridge built the apparatus, which was originally designed for chimps. The team published their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Researchers have documented elephants in the wild helping each other Study leader Dr Joshua Plotnik from the University …

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