Notes for "Nature's Great Masterpiece"
May. 24th, 2021 01:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThese are the notes for "Nature's Great Masterpiece."
Tamira Bailey -- She has fair skin, brown eyes, and long straight brown hair. She is tall and slim. Her heritage is American. She speaks Before English. She is 13 years old at the End. Tamira and her parents have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. Her older siblings were away at college, presumed dead. After everyone else at the reserve dies, Tamira releases the elephants and travels north with her favorite herd.
Anshuka -- She is an Asian elephant cow. She has gray skin mottled with pink. Anshuka is 30 years old at the End. She is the daughter of Sahura (49), the herd matriarch; niece of aunt Dhariya (44); older sister of sisters Santi (25), Ananda (20), brother Kshem (15), and sister Sai (infant); older cousin of Praneet (7) and Daya (2); mother of daughters Nirjala (13) and Veda (8); aunt of niece Iniya (5); and strongly attached to the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). They have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. The display paddocks are small enclosures with a pavilion for shade, bounded by two thick cables of electrical wire, usually occupied by one or two elephants. The rest of the reserve is divided into several much larger enclosures for herds. After the End, the elephants leave with Tamira's help.
In Asian elephants, females don't have tusks, and only some males have tusks.
Sahura -- She is an Asian elephant cow, the matriarch of her herd. She has dark gray skin. She is 49 years old at the End. She is the older sister of Dhariya (44), mother of daughters Anshuka (30), Santi (25), Ananda (20), son Kshem (15), and daughter Sai (born not long before the End) among others, aunt of Praneet (7) and Daya (2), grandmother of granddaughters Nirjala (13), Veda (8), and Iniya (5). She is also attached to the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). They have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. The display paddocks are small enclosures with a pavilion for shade, bounded by two thick cables of electrical wire, usually occupied by one or two elephants. The rest of the reserve is divided into several much larger enclosures for herds. After the End, the elephants leave with Tamira's help.
Asian elephants reach adulthood around 17, and can live up to 80 years. Asian elephants go through menopause, but African ones don't seem to do so.
Sai -- She is an Asian elephant calf, daughter of the herd matriarch Sahura (49). She has dark pinkish-gray skin and a frizz of red hair. She was born not long before the End. She is the daughter of Sahura (49), niece of Dhariya (44), younger sister of sisters Anshuka (30), Santi (25), Ananda (20), and brother Kshem (15), younger cousin of Praneet (7) and Daya (2), aunt of nieces Nirjala (13), Veda (8), and Iniya (5). She is also a friend of the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). They have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. The display paddocks are small enclosures with a pavilion for shade, bounded by two thick cables of electrical wire, usually occupied by one or two elephants. The rest of the reserve is divided into several much larger enclosures for herds. After the End, the elephants leave with Tamira's help.
Florida Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation Sahura mother
Sahura's Herd
Sahura's herd lived at have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. After the End, they leave with the help of the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). The one in back is Dhariya (44), Sahura's younger sister.
The large one near the water is Santi (25), currently pregnant and almost ready to give birth; and the one on the right is Ananda (20), also pregnant with her first calf; they are Sahura's daughters and Anshuka's younger sisters. The medium one closest to the water is Kshem (15), Anshuka's younger brother.
The medium one closest to Dhariya (44) is Anshuka's daughter Nirjala (13). The smaller one by Nirjala (13) is Dhariya's son Praneet (7). The medium one in the middle is Anshuka's daughter Veda (8). The small one right behind Santi (25) is her daughter Iniya (5). Dhariya's daughter Daya (2) is not visible, hidden by the undergrowth.
Medha's Herd
Medha's herd lived at have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. After the End, they leave with the help of the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). The largest cow standing broadside is the matriarch, Medha (40); underneath is her daughter Navya (newborn). On the left is Medha's son Chatur (14).
The large cow on the right is Binisha (32) and her daughter with her is Bhakti (12). They are unrelated to Medha's family, but Medha and Binisha worked together in a circus, so the blended herd works.
Bachelor Herd
The bachelor herd lived at have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. After the End, they leave with the help of the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). From the right, the first in line is Aadish (47), second is Kadamb (39), third is Chandru (22), fourth is Balveer (31), and fifth is Hemadri (19).
Narvinder -- He is a bull Asian elephant. He has pale pinkish-gray skin. He is 36 years old and in musth at the End. He has lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. The display paddocks are small enclosures with a pavilion for shade, bounded by two thick cables of electrical wire, usually occupied by one or two elephants. The rest of the reserve is divided into several much larger enclosures for herds. After the End, the human Tamira Bailey (13) unlocks Narvinder's paddock to make it easier for him to escape.
* * *
"Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing."
-- John Donne
See the maps, animals, and Grunge notes after "Laundry, Liturgy, and Women's Work."
This map shows the United States of America, and this one highlights hurricane risk areas.
Damage descriptions for the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale increase with higher numbers.
Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Category 1 = 74-95 mph (range of 22)
Category 2 = 96-110 mph (range of 15)
Category 3 = 111-129 mph (range of 19)
Category 4 = 130-156 mph (range of 27)
Category 5 = 157+ mph [new 157-176] (standard range of 20)
Category 6 = 177-196 mph [new]
Category 7 = 197-216 mph [new]
The old scale no longer covers observed storms adequately. In this setting, people observed that the first four categories had roughly 20 mph of spread, and applied this to create not one but two new categories. Even so, Category 7 just barely covers the highest recorded wind speed in a hurricane, which means people should be prepared to add Category 8.
Hurricane dangers go far beyond wind speed. People need to pay attention to the whole power of the storm. Some people have devised other methods of measurement, such as the Hurricane Severity Index. An ideal rating system would include standard factors such as wind speed, storm surge, and rainfall; plus variables such as how saturated the target ground already is or whether it got hit by a previous storm. This would warn people not only about the general danger of the storm but which specific hazards it poses the most.
Hurricane clusters are increasing due to climate change. A settlement that can survive one direct hit is much more vulnerable to a second or third. In this setting, climate change had battered the population for some time before the Grunge hit.
This population map of America shows the east heavily populated.
Polk City is near Winterhaven in central Florida.
See road and population maps of Florida. Note that in this setting, the eastern coast of Florida was hit by a cluster of hurricanes ranking Category 5, Category 6, and Category 7 the year before the End. Almost everything was flattened and little had been rebuilt. Some of the smaller keys and part of the Everglades were submerged. Miami, Jacksonville, and the smaller cities between them were already ruined and not worth bombing. Central Florida took significant damage but survived, and the west coast took lighter damage. Orlando was bombed with the Grunge, as were Cape Coral, Tampa, Tallahassee, Pensacola, and other cities or large towns. While southern Florida is fine elephant habitat, and some of the least populated area in the east, it is ravaged by storms often enough to make it less appealing.
See Georgia population and cities. Parks show on this map of federal lands. The southern part of the state is less densely populated than the north, which is dominated by the massive metroplex of Atlanta. Already stressed by water problems, so much of Atlanta was obliterated in the End that its water management system collapsed, leading to widespread flooding. People began calling it "the Lost City of Atlantis." Georgia doesn't have much room for elephants and is risky due to its formerly high population.
Here are Mississippi population and federal land maps. Mississippi has more space with lower population, and is less susceptible to hurricanes.
See a map of American Plant Hardiness Zones. Central Florida is Zone 9-10. Most of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi are Zone 8. While Zone 8 can get chillier than elephants really like, summer temperatures would let them range north away from storms, then migrate south as the weather cools since hurricanes don't happen in winter.
Here is a Global Plant Hardiness Zones Map. Compare it to current elephant habitats and historic ranges in Africa and in Asia. You can see that elephants use to live in somewhat cooler areas before humans drove them out. Zoo elephants sometimes play in the snow. Their heat adaptations would be serious liabilities in freezing temperatures, but elephants are big, tough, clever, and capable of moving at speed. They could likely figure out how to survive, and will have a better chance with a human guide.
Elephants have large numbers in captivity in America. The Center for Elephant Conservation is one example. In this context, natural and human disasters caused people to transfer many elephants and other animals from zoos and circuses to sanctuaries in the wilderness, even before the Grunge hit, which increased their chances of survival.
Asian elephants are social animals with complex behavior. Elephant society is divided into matriarchal herds and bachelor herds.
Musth is a condition of heightened aggression and lust in mature male elephants. Receptive females prefer males in musth, and other males give way. The hormonal boost is so potent that a smaller musth male can usually drive away a larger non-musth male.
Elephant intelligence shows in their behavior.
A howdah is an elephant saddle. However, people often ride elephants with nothing more than a rope for grip, or even bareback. The fancy type of howdah is like a little pavilion on an elephant's back. The rack style of howdah, usually made from metal or bamboo, works great for carrying a lot of passengers or cargo.
Elephant commands come from various languages.
Elephants may be mounted and ridden in various ways. These videos show mounting from the front leg and riding, mounting from the back leg and dismounting from the side, and mounting and dismounting and elephant from the head. In this case, an elephant issues and invitation to ride, which takes a bit of pantomime, but eventually the human gets the hint. That trunk-slap will probably become the elephant command to human, "Get on."
Tamira Bailey -- She has fair skin, brown eyes, and long straight brown hair. She is tall and slim. Her heritage is American. She speaks Before English. She is 13 years old at the End. Tamira and her parents have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. Her older siblings were away at college, presumed dead. After everyone else at the reserve dies, Tamira releases the elephants and travels north with her favorite herd.
Anshuka -- She is an Asian elephant cow. She has gray skin mottled with pink. Anshuka is 30 years old at the End. She is the daughter of Sahura (49), the herd matriarch; niece of aunt Dhariya (44); older sister of sisters Santi (25), Ananda (20), brother Kshem (15), and sister Sai (infant); older cousin of Praneet (7) and Daya (2); mother of daughters Nirjala (13) and Veda (8); aunt of niece Iniya (5); and strongly attached to the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). They have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. The display paddocks are small enclosures with a pavilion for shade, bounded by two thick cables of electrical wire, usually occupied by one or two elephants. The rest of the reserve is divided into several much larger enclosures for herds. After the End, the elephants leave with Tamira's help.
In Asian elephants, females don't have tusks, and only some males have tusks.
Sahura -- She is an Asian elephant cow, the matriarch of her herd. She has dark gray skin. She is 49 years old at the End. She is the older sister of Dhariya (44), mother of daughters Anshuka (30), Santi (25), Ananda (20), son Kshem (15), and daughter Sai (born not long before the End) among others, aunt of Praneet (7) and Daya (2), grandmother of granddaughters Nirjala (13), Veda (8), and Iniya (5). She is also attached to the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). They have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. The display paddocks are small enclosures with a pavilion for shade, bounded by two thick cables of electrical wire, usually occupied by one or two elephants. The rest of the reserve is divided into several much larger enclosures for herds. After the End, the elephants leave with Tamira's help.
Asian elephants reach adulthood around 17, and can live up to 80 years. Asian elephants go through menopause, but African ones don't seem to do so.
Sai -- She is an Asian elephant calf, daughter of the herd matriarch Sahura (49). She has dark pinkish-gray skin and a frizz of red hair. She was born not long before the End. She is the daughter of Sahura (49), niece of Dhariya (44), younger sister of sisters Anshuka (30), Santi (25), Ananda (20), and brother Kshem (15), younger cousin of Praneet (7) and Daya (2), aunt of nieces Nirjala (13), Veda (8), and Iniya (5). She is also a friend of the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). They have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. The display paddocks are small enclosures with a pavilion for shade, bounded by two thick cables of electrical wire, usually occupied by one or two elephants. The rest of the reserve is divided into several much larger enclosures for herds. After the End, the elephants leave with Tamira's help.
Florida Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation Sahura mother
Sahura's Herd
Sahura's herd lived at have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. After the End, they leave with the help of the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). The one in back is Dhariya (44), Sahura's younger sister.
The large one near the water is Santi (25), currently pregnant and almost ready to give birth; and the one on the right is Ananda (20), also pregnant with her first calf; they are Sahura's daughters and Anshuka's younger sisters. The medium one closest to the water is Kshem (15), Anshuka's younger brother.
The medium one closest to Dhariya (44) is Anshuka's daughter Nirjala (13). The smaller one by Nirjala (13) is Dhariya's son Praneet (7). The medium one in the middle is Anshuka's daughter Veda (8). The small one right behind Santi (25) is her daughter Iniya (5). Dhariya's daughter Daya (2) is not visible, hidden by the undergrowth.
Medha's Herd
Medha's herd lived at have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. After the End, they leave with the help of the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). The largest cow standing broadside is the matriarch, Medha (40); underneath is her daughter Navya (newborn). On the left is Medha's son Chatur (14).
The large cow on the right is Binisha (32) and her daughter with her is Bhakti (12). They are unrelated to Medha's family, but Medha and Binisha worked together in a circus, so the blended herd works.
Bachelor Herd
The bachelor herd lived at have lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. After the End, they leave with the help of the human girl Tamira Bailey (13). From the right, the first in line is Aadish (47), second is Kadamb (39), third is Chandru (22), fourth is Balveer (31), and fifth is Hemadri (19).
Narvinder -- He is a bull Asian elephant. He has pale pinkish-gray skin. He is 36 years old and in musth at the End. He has lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida with dozens of Asian elephants on 200 acres. The display paddocks are small enclosures with a pavilion for shade, bounded by two thick cables of electrical wire, usually occupied by one or two elephants. The rest of the reserve is divided into several much larger enclosures for herds. After the End, the human Tamira Bailey (13) unlocks Narvinder's paddock to make it easier for him to escape.
* * *
"Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing."
-- John Donne
See the maps, animals, and Grunge notes after "Laundry, Liturgy, and Women's Work."
This map shows the United States of America, and this one highlights hurricane risk areas.
Damage descriptions for the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale increase with higher numbers.
Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Category 1 = 74-95 mph (range of 22)
Category 2 = 96-110 mph (range of 15)
Category 3 = 111-129 mph (range of 19)
Category 4 = 130-156 mph (range of 27)
Category 5 = 157+ mph [new 157-176] (standard range of 20)
Category 6 = 177-196 mph [new]
Category 7 = 197-216 mph [new]
The old scale no longer covers observed storms adequately. In this setting, people observed that the first four categories had roughly 20 mph of spread, and applied this to create not one but two new categories. Even so, Category 7 just barely covers the highest recorded wind speed in a hurricane, which means people should be prepared to add Category 8.
Hurricane dangers go far beyond wind speed. People need to pay attention to the whole power of the storm. Some people have devised other methods of measurement, such as the Hurricane Severity Index. An ideal rating system would include standard factors such as wind speed, storm surge, and rainfall; plus variables such as how saturated the target ground already is or whether it got hit by a previous storm. This would warn people not only about the general danger of the storm but which specific hazards it poses the most.
Hurricane clusters are increasing due to climate change. A settlement that can survive one direct hit is much more vulnerable to a second or third. In this setting, climate change had battered the population for some time before the Grunge hit.
This population map of America shows the east heavily populated.
Polk City is near Winterhaven in central Florida.
See road and population maps of Florida. Note that in this setting, the eastern coast of Florida was hit by a cluster of hurricanes ranking Category 5, Category 6, and Category 7 the year before the End. Almost everything was flattened and little had been rebuilt. Some of the smaller keys and part of the Everglades were submerged. Miami, Jacksonville, and the smaller cities between them were already ruined and not worth bombing. Central Florida took significant damage but survived, and the west coast took lighter damage. Orlando was bombed with the Grunge, as were Cape Coral, Tampa, Tallahassee, Pensacola, and other cities or large towns. While southern Florida is fine elephant habitat, and some of the least populated area in the east, it is ravaged by storms often enough to make it less appealing.
See Georgia population and cities. Parks show on this map of federal lands. The southern part of the state is less densely populated than the north, which is dominated by the massive metroplex of Atlanta. Already stressed by water problems, so much of Atlanta was obliterated in the End that its water management system collapsed, leading to widespread flooding. People began calling it "the Lost City of Atlantis." Georgia doesn't have much room for elephants and is risky due to its formerly high population.
Here are Mississippi population and federal land maps. Mississippi has more space with lower population, and is less susceptible to hurricanes.
See a map of American Plant Hardiness Zones. Central Florida is Zone 9-10. Most of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi are Zone 8. While Zone 8 can get chillier than elephants really like, summer temperatures would let them range north away from storms, then migrate south as the weather cools since hurricanes don't happen in winter.
Here is a Global Plant Hardiness Zones Map. Compare it to current elephant habitats and historic ranges in Africa and in Asia. You can see that elephants use to live in somewhat cooler areas before humans drove them out. Zoo elephants sometimes play in the snow. Their heat adaptations would be serious liabilities in freezing temperatures, but elephants are big, tough, clever, and capable of moving at speed. They could likely figure out how to survive, and will have a better chance with a human guide.
Elephants have large numbers in captivity in America. The Center for Elephant Conservation is one example. In this context, natural and human disasters caused people to transfer many elephants and other animals from zoos and circuses to sanctuaries in the wilderness, even before the Grunge hit, which increased their chances of survival.
Asian elephants are social animals with complex behavior. Elephant society is divided into matriarchal herds and bachelor herds.
Musth is a condition of heightened aggression and lust in mature male elephants. Receptive females prefer males in musth, and other males give way. The hormonal boost is so potent that a smaller musth male can usually drive away a larger non-musth male.
Elephant intelligence shows in their behavior.
A howdah is an elephant saddle. However, people often ride elephants with nothing more than a rope for grip, or even bareback. The fancy type of howdah is like a little pavilion on an elephant's back. The rack style of howdah, usually made from metal or bamboo, works great for carrying a lot of passengers or cargo.
Elephant commands come from various languages.
Elephants may be mounted and ridden in various ways. These videos show mounting from the front leg and riding, mounting from the back leg and dismounting from the side, and mounting and dismounting and elephant from the head. In this case, an elephant issues and invitation to ride, which takes a bit of pantomime, but eventually the human gets the hint. That trunk-slap will probably become the elephant command to human, "Get on."
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-24 12:50 pm (UTC)Well, they're not supposed to. Ugh, that last one in December was not something I want to repeat.
Yes ...
Date: 2021-05-24 05:43 pm (UTC)It remains true that hurricanes feed on warm weather, so they have less fuel in winter. They still generate in tropical areas that have less variation, but as they move away from the equator, the cooler winter temperatures will drain energy from the storm.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-24 02:59 pm (UTC)The human up-up-up posture used by small children would translate quite well to asking an elephant for a ride...
I wonder if they'll pick up more orphans. I think elephants don't usually adopt, but humans do, so...
Thoughts
Date: 2021-05-24 06:02 pm (UTC)That makes sense.
>> I wonder if they'll pick up more orphans. I think elephants don't usually adopt, but humans do, so... <<
That's possible. Certainly there are a lot of stray children, and these elephants have already learned to "see" human calves as relevant.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-05-24 06:42 pm (UTC)A recue scenario would be interesting. (Kind of the inverse of Hercules being rescued by a human over in Terramagne.)
Just off the top of my head, I remember two RL scenarios:
1) An elephant herd passed a human infant (I think the mother had left the baby at the edge of a field while doing farm work) and they covered the baby with branches as protection from the sun.
2) A male elephant ended up breaking a house (smashed in a wall) only to hear a young child (4-5 yrs, I think?) crying, he immediately very carefully backed up and left.
There was also a situation with lions, where a girl was involved in an attempted bride kidnapping / child marriage, escaped, and was protected by lions (who scared off the men).
If humans can rescue elephant calves, than it should work in reverse, too. I wonder if anyone has succesfully intentionally recruited wild dolphins / elephants / whatever for a rescue in real life.