We read with interest the surgical approach of Kondoh et al. [1] for the treatment of the distal arch aneurysm. They performed the elephant trunk procedure with undersized grafts instead of using the frozen elephant trunk technique with 10–20% oversized stent grafts. One month postoperative the residual ‘endoleak’ was 14% in Group 1, and 67% in Group 2. They performed an additional procedure in...

The dried endosperm of the seed of Phytelephas sp is widely used for artisanal work in the Amazon region due to its favorable mechanical properties and pleasant appearance that resemble elephant ivory. While the seeds have enjoyed popularity and limited use by selected industries (e.g., military uniform buttons and piano keys) and handicraft applications, little is known about the mechanical pr...

African forest elephants are difficult to observe in the dense vegetation, and previous studies have relied upon indirect methods to estimate population sizes. Using multilocus genotyping of noninvasively collected samples, we performed a genetic survey of the forest elephant population at Kakum National Park, Ghana. We estimated population size, sex ratio and genetic variability from our data,...

Africa is the second largest continent on Earth. That is the fact. But how do people outside and within Africa perceive this massive continent? It is like the proverbial elephant and blind men who, when asked to describe the elephant, could only describe it in the way they perceived it. The elephant was a large wall (the body), a thick and long pipe (the trunk), piercing objects (the tasks), a ...

Population estimates based on strip transect aerial surveys of large herbivores can aid management decisions if estimates are accurate and precise. Because sampling intensities may influence precision, we simulated survey intensities to determine which could yield accurate and precise population estimates and detect population changes for several African elephant (Loxodonta africana) population...

Leptospirosis was identified in six northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) that were stranded in 1995 along the coast of California (USA). Histologic lesions in all seals included tubulointerstitial nephritis with tubular degeneration and necrosis. Infection was confirmed through identification of spirochetes using an immunohistochemical stain for Leptospira sp. antigens. One affecte...

We report the case of a 71-year-old female with mega-aorta extending from the ascending aorta to the descending aorta, who was successfully treated with a one-stage total thoracic aortic repair by the frozen elephant trunk technique using a stent-graft. We used a home-made frozen elephant trunk with four giant-turco Z-stents on the distal side that was inserted into the downstream descending ao...

Many of us will be familiar with the parable of the blind men and the elephant, beautifully retold by the 19th century American poet John Godfrey Saxe. In this tale, each man in turn describes the small part of the elephant they are touching (the flank, the tusk, the trunk, etc.), declaring with confidence that they know the true nature of the object (‘It’s a wall!’, ‘A spear!’, ‘A snake!’). Sa...

A total of 114 captive elephants (6 Asian; 108 African) from 43 private institutions or North American zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums were sampled and evaluated to investigate genetic status. Because previous analyses of the captive collection indicated potential cytonuclear dissociation between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and microsatellite nuclear DNA genotype...