HOME | DD

Description

Though elves are less mysterious than they were many years ago they still confound biologists. They can stay immobile for hours, days or weeks on end, and no known instrument can measure any vital functions that persist. Some think elves' ability to slow their metabolic rates helps them conserve energy during the coldest months of the year. Their clothes seem garish to our eyes, but their bright contrasting colours are thought to act as warning signs, like those commonly seen on venomous creatures or harmless ones that mimic them.

One mystery surrounding elves was, ironically enough, solved with the help of a culture which was then considered primitive. Europeans noted elves were only seen around the winter solstice, and one week later they were gone. It was commonly believed elves hibernated underground, turned themselves to mice or birds, or lived in some magical faraway land throughout the months they were not seen. Even early naturalists sometimes made these wild claims, but as the most methodical looked for specimens each winter, some found living elves transfixed by stone or copper headed arrows. Later European contact with Inuit who used identical arrows proved elves came from the Arctic Circle. While many mysteries endure, the existence of Pfeilelves (named after a specimen found near Waldheim, Saxony, on December 19, 1831) says much for the resilience of these enigmatic little creatures, and even more for the annoyance they have brought our kind for centuries.

Description

Though elves are less mysterious than they were many years ago they still confound biologists. They can stay immobile for hours, days or weeks on end, and no known instrument can measure any vital functions that persist. Some think elves' ability to slow their metabolic rates helps them conserve energy during the coldest months of the year. Their clothes seem garish to our eyes, but their bright contrasting colours are thought to act as warning signs, like those commonly seen on venomous creatures or harmless ones that mimic them.

One mystery surrounding elves was, ironically enough, solved with the help of a culture which was then considered primitive. Europeans noted elves were only seen around the winter solstice, and one week later they were gone. It was commonly believed elves hibernated underground, turned themselves to mice or birds, or lived in some magical faraway land throughout the months they were not seen. Even early naturalists sometimes made these wild claims, but as the most methodical looked for specimens each winter, some found living elves transfixed by stone or copper headed arrows. Later European contact with Inuit who used identical arrows proved elves came from the Arctic Circle. While many mysteries endure, the existence of Pfeilelves (named after a specimen found near Waldheim, Saxony, on December 19, 1831) says much for the resilience of these enigmatic little creatures, and even more for the annoyance they have brought our kind for centuries.