--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know African and Asian elephants can…" description: "\"We know African and Asian elephants can interbreed, and they're separated by 5 million to 6 million years.\" — Hendrik Poinar" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/hendrik-poinar-31814_african_we-know-african-and-asian-elephants-can_2789868.jpg" --- # We know African and Asian elephants can interbreed, and… ![“We know African and Asian elephants can interbreed, and they're separated by 5 million to 6 million years.” quote by Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/hendrik-poinar-31814_african_we-know-african-and-asian-elephants-can_2789868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/hendrik-poinar-31814_african_we-know-african-and-asian-elephants-can_2789868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/hendrik-poinar-31814_african_we-know-african-and-asian-elephants-can_2789868.jpg) > “We know African and Asian elephants can interbreed, and they're separated by 5 million to 6 million years.” [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Elephants from Africa and Asia share a distant common ancestor despite millions of years of separation. **In simple terms:** Elephants diverged long ago but retain genetic links. Key Takeaway Study ancient DNA to understand species history. Themes evolution genetics species divergence history Mood educational scientific Type research informative When to use this quote - museum research - genetic analysis - educational curricula Key Concepts phylogeny speciation conservation biology Questions to Reflect On - What does this tell us about biodiversity? - How can this inform conservation? A Different Perspective Genetic data can be incomplete. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Asian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asian/) [Elephants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephants/) [Million years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-years/) ## Related quotes > [Asian elephants have always worked with people and they like company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/asian-elephants-have-always-worked-with-people-and-they-like-company/) [Princess Stephanie of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/) > [Surrounded by a burgeoning human population, Asian elephants have to contend with the spread of settlements and farming, and the demands of rapidly developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shand/surrounded-by-a-burgeoning-human-population-asian-elephants-have-to/) [Mark Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shand/) > [So, the ant way of life is very ancient and very successful. As far as human beings are concerned, we've been around for only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/so-the-ant-way-of-life-is-very-ancient-and-very-successful-as-far-as/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I will hold you for a million years to make you feel my love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-hold-you-for-a-million-years-to-make-you-feel-my-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No, my point is that life on earth can take of itself. In the thinking of a human being, a hundred years is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/no-my-point-is-that-life-on-earth-can-take-of-itself-in-the-thinking/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I would have never thought in a million years that I would appeal to an Avril fan. 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If we dont…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/well-lose-more-species-of-plants-and-animals-between-2000-and-2065/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [Singularity is the point at which "all the change in the last million years will be superseded by the change in the next five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/singularity-is-the-point-at-which-all-the-change-in-the-last-million/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Sometimes,” he said after a second that lasted a million years, “things get broken. And they can’t be fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hart/sometimes-he-said-after-a-second-that-lasted-a-million-years-things/) [Megan Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hart/) > [“In God's scheme what is a few billion years here and there. 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Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I spent a million years looking for you and all I got is half of my heart for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meow/i-spent-a-million-years-looking-for-you-and-all-i-got-is-half-of-my/) [Meow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meow/) ## More by Hendrik Poinar > [Nuclear DNA encodes all the proteins and enzymes that make you you, basically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/nuclear-dna-encodes-all-the-proteins-and-enzymes-that-make-you-you/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [I'm not sure the Russians would be happy that their iconic wooly mammoth has North American origins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/i-m-not-sure-the-russians-would-be-happy-that-their-iconic-wooly/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [The study of evolution is an evolution in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/the-study-of-evolution-is-an-evolution-in-itself/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [You can go into caves, and they can maintain constant conditions of temperature and humidity over long periods of time, even though the outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/you-can-go-into-caves-and-they-can-maintain-constant-conditions-of/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [Scientists have always thought that because mammoths roamed such a huge territory - from Western Europe to Central North America - that North American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/scientists-have-always-thought-that-because-mammoths-roamed-such-a/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [When I was a young boy, I used to gaze through the microscope of my father at the insects in amber that he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/when-i-was-a-young-boy-i-used-to-gaze-through-the-microscope-of-my/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [There is no good scientific reason to bring back an extinct species. Why would one bring them back? To put them in a theme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/there-is-no-good-scientific-reason-to-bring-back-an-extinct-species/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [Typically, there's a drive in science to do something just to say you've done it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/typically-there-s-a-drive-in-science-to-do-something-just-to-say-you/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [Every outbreak across the globe today stems from a descendant of the medieval plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/every-outbreak-across-the-globe-today-stems-from-a-descendant-of-the/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [I laughed when Steven Spielberg said that cloning extinct animals was inevitable. But I'm not laughing anymore, at least about mammoths. This is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/i-laughed-when-steven-spielberg-said-that-cloning-extinct-animals-was/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [If we brought the mammoth back to Siberia, maybe that would be good for the ecosystems that are changing because of climate change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/if-we-brought-the-mammoth-back-to-siberia-maybe-that-would-be-good/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [Theres no environment I can think of that would have remained constant enough to preserve dinosaur DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/theres-no-environment-i-can-think-of-that-would-have-remained/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [It turns out that there are swaths of habitat in the north of Siberia and Yukon that actually could house a mammoth. Remember, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/it-turns-out-that-there-are-swaths-of-habitat-in-the-north-of-siberia/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [Teeth actually turn out to be one of a couple of good sources of ancient DNA. The teeth, actually the enamel, is quite good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/teeth-actually-turn-out-to-be-one-of-a-couple-of-good-sources-of/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [There's no environment I can think of that would have remained constant enough to preserve dinosaur DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/there-s-no-environment-i-can-think-of-that-would-have-remained/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) [Explore all 16 Hendrik Poinar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) ## More African quotes > [We examine and highlight the history of the African descendants in America, and know that each and every one of us has come this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvette-clarke/we-examine-and-highlight-the-history-of-the-african-descendants-in/) [Yvette Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvette-clarke/) > [I'm just trying to touch the world and touch the people and just get good material. 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Its about a first-generation African family living in America that has to return home to Nigeria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzo-aduba/i-loved-ghana-must-go-by-taiye-selasi-its-about-a-first-generation/) [Uzo Aduba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzo-aduba/) > [I was adopted my black Americans, I feel that I'm a 'Hybrid'. When I'm around Africans'I suddenly feel very black American. And when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-was-adopted-my-black-americans-i-feel-that-i-m-a-hybrid-when-i-m/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I concentrate on the southern African subcontinent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-dennis/i-concentrate-on-the-southern-african-subcontinent/) [Nigel Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-dennis/) > ['Yo I'm from Africa' Boy you're just a faker. Name one city: 'Uhh, Jamaica!' Wrong! And I think that's a shame, An African look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-sun/yo-i-m-from-africa-boy-you-re-just-a-faker-name-one-city-uhh-jamaica/) King Sun > [I am of an African-Jamaican descent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-mitchell/i-am-of-an-african-jamaican-descent/) [Liz Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-mitchell/) > [When I was very little, I was into Michael Jackson. 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