Saturday, January 2, 2010

Have you ever heard of the tiny little Thai Water Elephant? A Cryptozoological dream!

If you read my blog every now and again, you know I am always interested in a good crypto mystery. A while back I was chatting with my children during a visit and the subject of the Thai Water Elephant came up. I had never heard of such a thing, which prompted a research trip to our wonderfully large library where I sifted through and poured over stacks of zoological and scientific journals. I also searched the web and even going through ever nick and cranny of it, my searches proved none to fruitful. Apparently, these little fellows, and I do mean "little", no more than 2 inches tall, are very rare and not much is known about them.
So, here is the product of my searching. Everything that I can tell you about the elusive Thai Water Elephant! Unfortunately, I am unable to post a photograph for you since there are none available. Some mummified skeletons have been found and sold by Thai traders for huge sums to those people that collect rare and obscure finds. Some have sold in the millions but they are a dangerous find. One of the things that make the tiny beasts so rare to find in the first place is that it is said their tiny tusks hold enough poisonous venom to kill an adult, even after they have been dead for some time. A trader or a collector could easily wind up dead if they mishandle their "find".
First, I must state that since there is no living proof of these little guys, just as we have no living proof of Bigfoot or the Jersey Devil or the like, we must say the Thai Water Elephant is, at this time, a legend and that legend is said to have begun in the waterways of the mountain regions of Thailand. It is said that the tiny little elephants live in a pack and spend their time in living in the muddy streams that run through the thickly forested regions where the mud is so dense only their little pointy tusks show above the muddy surface. This is why they are never seen by human eyes and why they are so deadly. It is also why their mummified remains can sometimes be found. The mud serves as a protective shield that hides them and as one to protect and preserve their skin after death so their condition is such that collectors would pay top dollar for them. A person walking through the forest, passing through a muddy stream might well step on one of those pointy tusks and die from the injected venom, thinking they were bitten by a snake or some other venomous creature indigenous to the area.
So, whether or not you take any stock in the theory of the tiny elephants, it seems logical to me. I would love to see one.....they must be awfully cute, poisonous or not!

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear Shadow Watchers

Don't know if your research led you to come across the report I saw a few years back - I guess you have to find 5,000,000 baht even to see one.

They also seem not to do well in captivity.

http://bit.ly/86mTie

Kathie said...

John, thank you so much for you comment. I enjoyed reading that report. No, I did not come across that so I was really glad to read that and appreciate your feedback. If you have any more information I would love to read it. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I assume you have the seen the article on Parascientific site, not sure if John's got enough money looks like 3 million baht is needed now! Arguments also rage as to the video on U-Tube, showing one in a temple looking far more like a pig!

jbganesh.

Kathie said...

jbganesh, I thought that youtube video looked a little "piggy"! So, what you and John think. Do you think these little fellows are just the stuff of legends or do you think there might be something to the stories?

Possibly just a way for the people of region to make some money selling the mummified "remains" and "skeletons" or just elusive like other cryptos?

I'd love to hear what you think and I know my other Shadow Watcher readers will to!

Unknown said...

...given the ancient and endless nature of these forests in the old days (& don't forget they are still finding new species and subspecies in Laos and Vietnam) nothing is impossible - though I very much doubt it was a small elephant species it may have been something else living in the murky waters - a water rat with elongated incisors and a long nose?

Who knows what used to live out there and was rarely seen? I once had a old Hmong hunter in Laos almost perfectly describe a Sumatran Rhino he (or his father) had once tracked, though he had it as some sort of rabbit.

Anonymous said...

I wanna selling my water elephant now in hand!I am at myanmar.If you want to by it please contacts [bbbboy2@gmail.com]

Kathie said...

Well, Although I'm unable to purchase, I'm sure everyone here, myself included, would love to see a photo of it. Can you take a picture and post it here for us so we can see what one looks like?

Unknown said...

Dear BBBBboy2

I have a lot of experience looking after the larger variety of elephants but do happen to live on the border with Myanmar in an area where a river makes up that border.

I would not want to upset CITES by illegally importing it to Thailand, perhaps, as Kathie suggests, you could upload a picture to the blog and then we might arrange a viewing.

Many thanks

Viagra Online said...

I couldn't imagine a tiny elephant because every time I thought in an elephant I expect something big

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

i have one here with me, i want to post a photo of it here, but the problem is i don't know how to add it. But anyway, anyone who is interested in it, can contact me for photos, questions about it, for its story on how it was captured, i am ready here to discuss with you free and friendly, contact my account jacksonjeyerr@gmail.com for photos and questions.

Kathie said...

Thanks for your post...would you be able to leave a short comment here about how your specimen was captured, or something like that. I know the readers would be interested.
Thanks,
Kathie

Unknown said...
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Kathie said...

what a nice thing to say. I appreciate it, and hope I can start posting regularly again soon.

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