Alternative Energy: Elephants as Transportation
An in depth look at Elephants as alternative transportation. MPG vs MPP (miles per pound of feed), how do elephants stack up? Are they more “fuel efficient” than the average family sedan, than a hybrid?
Occasionally, our work here at Motor City allows us to experience so incredible events: Historic races like the Walter Mitty & LeMans, driving schools, auctions, car shows, the SEMA Show… -But one of the most rewarding parts of the job is interacting with the next generation of automotive enthusiasts. So, we jumped on a chance recently to help students at Providence Christian Academy (a local private school that really invests in to the lives of their students), as they researched material for their own alternative energy and transportation blogs.
Admittedly, the best student blogs were ones that didn’t need our help sorting through resources. We hope you enjoy this selection as much as we did:
Info about elephants:
Elephants are the largest animal on land. Depending on the species and their gender, they can weigh from 2 tons to 5 tons! Elephants eat 300-600 pounds of food each day. They spend around 16 hours a day finding the massive amount of food. From a single elephant, a calf can be born every 4-6 years. Elephants live about 70 years! So they have about 15 babies in their lifetime. According to Taylor, there are only 35,000-40,000 elephants left. Elephants are endangered!
Elephants as Transportation:
Elephants walk at about 4.5 mph. They can run at 15-20mph! Of course, they only run when really motivated. Elephants can walk 50 miles each day. They use no gasoline but they use a lot of veggies! They poop 125 pounds or more of their used food each day. Elephants can adapt to any habitat: “Forests, woodlands, grassy plains, savanna, swamps and deserts are some of the ecosystems where they easily survive,” says Girija Shindie.
Good Things About Using Elephants as Transportation:
Elephants would be awesome seed dispensers! Their poop has seeds in it and disperses seeds for more trees. Elephants are simple to ride, and more jobs would open up for animal trainers and poop cleaners.
Bad Things About Using Elephants as Transportation:
They eat a TON of food and they poop a LOT. If every family in America had an elephant, all the greenery would be eaten up. Elephants walk slowly, so many people would be aggravated that they can’t get where they want faster. An elephant might walk 50 miles each day and eat 300-600 pounds of food per day. So elephants go 0.16-0.08 miles per pound of food.
Summary:
Elephants are not efficient as transportation. They walk too slowly and eat too much. Riding an elephant around is an awesome idea. Nevertheless, Americans are too impatient, making the use of elephants as transportation close to impossible.
Works Cited:
Taylor. “Elephants.” Web. 12 May 2011. <http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00450/elephant.htm>
“How Much Poop Does an African Elephant Produce In a Day and Why Is Elephant Poop Useful?” Web. 12 May 2011. <http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/how-much-poop-does-an-african-elephant-produce-in-a-day-and-why-is-elephant-poop-useful>
“USATODAY.com – All about Elephants, from Trunk to Tail.” News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World – USATODAY.com. 29 Oct. 2004. Web. 12 May 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2004-10-29-wonderquest_x.htm.
“About Elephants.” Elephant Information Repository: Elephant Resources. Web. 15 May 2011. http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/about_elephants.htm.
Shinde, Girija. “Elephants Habitat.” Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 13 May 2011. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/elephants-habitat.html.
“Impact.” Elephant Information Repository: Elephant Resources. Web. 13 May 2011. http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/Impact/impact.html#impact.
“San Diego Zoo Blogs » Blog Archive » How Far Do Elephants Walk in One Day?” San Diego Zoo Blogs. Web. 14 May 2011. http://blogarchives.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2008/07/14/how-far-do-elephants-walk-in-one-day/.
Photo Credit: Travelpod
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