Elephants can do that? Really? I've never been able to do it, even with two strong people holding my ankles up there. I can do it under water for, like, maybe a second...
Hilarious images of various animals trying to do "head-stands" float through my mind as I research this one. I went to various sites this time, looking for proof that no other animals can be trained to do this. According to WikiAnswers, Big Site of Amazing Animal Facts, and SodaHead all say this is true. It takes a lot of coaxing and training for the Asian elephant (or us humans, for that matter) to be able to do this. What does it look like? Here's an example:
Image is from dreamstime.com, as you can probably tell by the watermark.
From what I have seen in my research on this topic, teaching an elephant to do this can be a harrowing ordeal. This is not a natural pose, and you will find articles EVERYWHERE about how training elephants, using them in the circus, etc are inhumane. Some pictures I found, I will admit, were pretty nasty. I know from past animal experiences that you can train an animal without force. Sadly, not everyone agrees. This is why I do not plan attending the circus anytime soon. But I digress. This is not an animal rights blog.
Other animals have been known to do handstands instinctively. For example, the skunk will do a handstand when threatened by predators, most likely to assure its stinky cocktail will reach the intended target:
This spotted skunk (image from pbs.org) is doing a handstand as a warning before firing off the nasty juices for which all skunks are so well known.
Pandas have also been known to do handstands. While "females urinate to leave a mark near the / ground," males "pee or wipe their anal glands on the trunk" of a tree (Brown 65-66). In order to "show how fit and virile they are, the males compete to place the secretions as high as possible. (Brown 66)" There are four main positions males will use to complete this task. There are "a squat, a reverse wipe, and a leg-cock. (Brown 66)" If none of these satisfy, the male will complete a handstand to reach even higher, as depicted below:
This picture is from news.bbc.co.uk. Impressive, I must say.
By looking just at these pictures, I guess you could argue semantics regarding an elephant doing standing on his head versus a handstand. I have seen images of elephants getting closer to a standing on their head, however I have chosen not to show them, due to the somewhat "not-so-nice" training techniques that were also being displayed.
So...can elephants stand on their head? I think the answer is yes. And I won't lie, it would be awesome to see. But I still won't pay the circus to see it.
Print Resource:
Brown, Augustus. Why Pandas Do Handstands: and Other Curious Truths About Animals. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2006. Print. 65-66
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