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The pre-eminent threats to the Asian elephant today are habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, which are driven by an expanding human population, and lead in turn to increasing conflicts between humans and elephants when elephants eat or trample crops. Hundreds of people and elephants are killed annually as a result of such conflicts.
Diagram of the six possible types of symbiotic relationship, from mutual benefit to mutual harm. The definition of symbiosis was a matter of debate for 130 years. [7] In 1877, Albert Bernhard Frank used the term symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens.
In the past, simple game theory models, such as the classic cooperative hunting and Prisoner's dilemma models, were used to determine decisions made by animals in cooperative relationships. However, complicated interactions between animals have required the use of more complex economic models such as the Nash equilibrium .
“We recognize the elephants are wild animals with complex physical, social, and emotional needs, and there is no free-contact management here at The Elephant Sanctuary,” Laura tells us.
The elephants live in a bucolic area referred to as The Kingdom, with dotted waterholes. The waterholes are also home to bullfrogs, chameleons , dung beetles , killifish , and terrapins . In The Elephant Queen , the animals are characters with personalities who live in symbiotic harmony.
Social bonding is observed in many interspecies interactions such as those between humans and their household pets, humans and primates, and many other animals in the wild. [ 2 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 20 ] Since social bonding involves communication and interactions between different species, it can lead to the development of interspecies friendships.
Fungi's relationship to plants in the form of mycelium evolved from parasitism and commensalism. Under certain conditions species of fungi previously in a state of mutualism can turn parasitic on weak or dying plants. [24] Likewise the symbiotic relationship of clown fish and sea anemones emerged from a commensalist relationship.
The Asian elephant became a siege engine, a mount in war, a status symbol, a beast of burden, and an elevated platform for hunting during historical times in South Asia. [137] Ganesha on his vahana mūṣaka the rat, c. 1820. Asian elephants have been captured from the wild and tamed for use by humans.