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jreed62254
Junior Member
Registered: 12-21-08
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Ther reason is they are afraid is because the mouse my roninto their trunk. If youwatch the episode the first thing the elephant does is raise and move his trunk then he stops and moves away.
J Dawg3
Junior Member
Registered: 12-29-08
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Yeah, you could be right......
quote:
Originally posted by jreed62254:
Ther reason is they are afraid is because the mouse my roninto their trunk. If youwatch the episode the first thing the elephant does is raise and move his trunk then he stops and moves away.
capaneo
Junior Member
Registered: 12-31-08
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quote:
ason is they are afraid


In my opinion they are not "afraid." I think they have the same feeling as some people have to cockroaches. Its not really fear.
wkid51
Junior Member
Registered: 01-01-09
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Elephants are afraid of mice. I learned it in fourth grade, during a book asignment. It was about what was a myth or the truth. Of course thinking it wasn't true, I got it wrong.
ollpk555
Junior Member
Registered: 01-03-09
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what if it was the color of the mouse(white)
ollpk555
Junior Member
Registered: 01-03-09
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-POP-
ollpk555
Junior Member
Registered: 01-03-09
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quote:
Originally posted by J Dawg3:
Yeah, you could be right......
quote:
Originally posted by jreed62254:
Ther reason is they are afraid is because the mouse my roninto their trunk. If youwatch the episode the first thing the elephant does is raise and move his trunk then he stops and moves away.
Nords123
Junior Member
Registered: 01-05-09
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Yes, the reason Elephants is afraid of mice is because they are afraid they might run up their long nose thingy (dont know the english name for it, im norwegian)

Its not only mice they are afraid of, any small creature really..

And you cant say they are afraid of them, because scared animals either run or defend themself. You could see the elephants wasnt scared of the mouse. They just didnt want to get close to it due to the fact it cud run up their long nose Smile

Just like humans and ants..
If you meet a big ant dump, you are not afraid of it, but you choose to walk around.
Cus you know walking over it could result in a really uncomfortable situation.
Preserved K
Senior Member
Registered: 11-06-08
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quote:
(dont know the english name for it, im norwegian)


Trunk.
weird100
Junior Member
Registered: 01-05-09
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I think is like this taht elefants is so gentle that they don´t wanna hurt something alive like a horse never step on a human if they came avoid it maybe?
Ethan N
Junior Member
Registered: 01-04-09
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Im pretty sure that a mouse would not voluntarily run up the trunk of a breathing elephant, and therefore the reflex for an elephant leaving or bieng frightened by a mouse running up its trunk could not form. In Africa, there are probably more dangerous small creatures that an elephant encounters, so I think that if it is actually afraid, it is just an asscociation of the more dangerous animals.
oasisfleeting
Junior Member
Registered: 01-05-09
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I propose this myth isn't fully explored for the following reason.
We don't know if it's the fact that that it's a mouse or the fact that it's ANY small furry animal. I propose you redo the myth with a small furry non rodent, as well as a small furry rodent alternative , like a hamster.

P.S. I theorize that elephants are startled by mice because it's been hardwired into elephants that mice are filthy diseased animals.
Also I like the theory that they just don't want to smash a poor little mouse.
oasis_from_life
Senior Member
Registered: 01-06-09
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I agree. This myth needs to be revisited.
MSRDINC
Junior Member
Registered: 12-22-08
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The elephant might be afraid because it mistakes the mouse for the head of snake. Nobody wants to get bitten by a poison snake.
bug3000
Junior Member
Registered: 02-08-09
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could the reaction of the elephant be due to the fact that the mouse was white. If a brown one (like in the wild) was used would the same reaction occur? The elephant could have been reacting to the color not the mouse
Raulph
Junior Member
Registered: 11-06-09
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The mouse gnaws out a leg of the elephant while it sleeps. The mouse lives in a leg as in the house. As the parasite.
Russia, Kazan, City Zoo. 1972-1993(approximately) elephant female.She was empty legs inside. Frown I think is very much a painfully...

p.s.
(Sorry for my english)
bflynn
Senior Member
Registered: 06-22-09
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I suppose it is much the way that som epeople are afraid of ants, as evidenced by some of us trying not to step on them.
jingyi
Junior Member
Registered: 11-09-09
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they really should test the color. in a world of tan colors the white could have startled the elephant. I highly doubt it was cause elephants are gentle, they are considered highly dangerous and have been known to kill people. Retest it brown mouse.
maxman
Senior Member
Registered: 11-22-07
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Elepphants are colourblind, so the colour is not part of the mix. And this test was done spur-of-the-moment during the shark week filming when the weather was too bad for filming at sea.
Lokifan
Senior Member
Registered: 07-27-08
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quote:
Originally posted by Raulph:
The mouse gnaws out a leg of the elephant while it sleeps. <snip>
p.s.
(Sorry for my english)


Interesting. It would explain the fear. In this case, it would be more like a human being afraid of a wasp or bee.

Your English is much better than my Russian. Smile

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