Swimming is a necessary skill for elephants as they cross rivers and lakes when searching for food. Thank you! Often, larger, older bulls win due to their strength. Did you know that in spite of the fact that elephants are the largest animals on land, they are very afraid of bees? Ive had horses all of my life! Elephants are the largest land mammal. Elephants are either left or right handed. Calves orphaned by poachers will show PTSD-like symptoms even decades later. As farmers encroach on elephant habitats to plant crops, conflicts between the animals and humans have led to the retaliatory killing of elephants. ", Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography / Getty Images, Elephants Don't Just TrumpetThey Also Squeak, 10 Extraordinary Facts About Elephant Trunks, 10 Extraordinary Facts About the Elusive Okapi, Stretchy, Telescoping Skin Is the Key to Elephant Trunks, 8 Incredible Animals Being Hunted Into Extinction, Adopt an elephant through the World Wildlife Foundation, Elephant Natural History: A Genomic Perspective, Elephants Can Determine Ethnicity, Gender, and Age From Acoustic Cues in Human Voices, Effects of Social Disruption in Elephants Persist Decades After Culling, FissionFusion Processes Weaken Dominance Networks of Female Asian Elephants in a Productive Habitat, Elephant Trunks form Joints to Squeeze Together Small Objects, Watch an Elephant Count Simply by Using Its Sense of Smell, African Elephants Use Plant Odours to Make Foraging Decisions Across Multiple Spatial Scales, Elephant Behavior Toward the Dead: A Review and Insights from Field Observations, Unique Numerical Competence of Asian Elephants on the Relative Numerosity Judgment Task, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The manatee, the rock hyrax, and the elephant share a common ancestor, Tethytheria, which died out more than 50 million years ago. The heaviest elephant in the world weighed 26,000 pounds. They also exhibit signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. They even learn to eat by putting their trunks inside their mothers' mouths to take food. In fact, they can measure up to five inches in length. Elephants do have hair all over. Elephant skin is about 2.5 cm thick. | "An Asian Elephant Imitates Human Speech." ceo@africageographic.com, Travel & conservation company, since 1991, , Private rhino the importance of private sector rhino conservation, Photographer of the Year 2023 Weekly Selection: Week 5. Older females help take care of the calves in the group. Adult elephants will also douse youngsters with dust. An elephants heart weighs between 27 and 46 pounds. 56. Elephants also use their trunks to hug, caress, and comfort other elephantsand baby elephants suck their trunks like human babies suck their thumbs. The more older females there are in the group, the better the chances that the calf will survive. 28. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. African elephant populations are sometimes thought to differ only by the location of the animals, but,evolutionarily speaking,forest and savannah elephants are as separate genetically as Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. Bull elephants have internal testes,much like the rock hyrax a rodent-like mammal and close relative to the elephant. Elephants can recognize other elephant carcasses. Male elephants court female elephants by using rituals involving different affectionate gestures and nuzzles. Read More > Tags: African Elephant, asian elephant, mammal, terrestrial Herds of African elephants roam through 37 different countries in the continent. 10) An African elephant trunk can have over 50,000 muscles in it. (2,268 to 6,350 kilograms . Generally one tusk will be shorter than the other. Researchers have observed elephants making repeated visits, attempting to assist expired animals, and calling out for help. When hes walking and exploring territory, he instead uses his trunk to feel what is ahead of him. The primary threats to elephants are habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation. Please click on this logo for more information. African elephants ears are three times larger than those of Asian elephants. Like human toddlers, great apes, magpies and dolphins, elephants have passed themirror testthey recognize themselves in a mirror. Bulls only start contributing to the gene pools at 35 to 40 years old and cows start breeding at 12 to 14 years old. Amazing! All of the information necessary to elephants survival is passed down by their elders. An elephant has been tried and hanged for murder back in 1916. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Now, this is an amazing fact about elephants that you can share with your friends and family. They have a poor hearing, despite having such large ears. Elephants are the largest land animal in the world. Even more impressive, they adjust their schedule to arrive just in time for the fruit they are seeking to be ripe. The abundant sensitivity of elephants is well documented, but their sentient nature is particularly notable in the interest they express toward the dead. 10, no. Researchers in Japan attempted to train Asian elephants to use a computer touch screen panel. Bull elephants do not experience musth at the same time as others. Were glad you enjoyed these fun elephant facts! Elephants are considered the strongest mammal on the planet. 17. Young and adolescent males stay with the herd until they are about 12 or 15 years old. Check out some videos of cute baby elephants. A potentially-large tusked elephant can be defined as any elephant younger than 35 years of age, where at least one tusk weighs 60 lbs (~27 kg) and consequently the elephant's tusk/tusks have the potential, given normal wear and tear, to weigh a minimum of 80-100 lbs when 50-60 years old. 54. 9. 2. Note that not all elephants, Asian or African, develop tusks as adults. He can then break the shell, blow it away by releasing air through the nostrils at the end of his trunk, then bring the peanut to his mouth to eat using his trunk. Around 90% of African elephants have been wiped out in the past century - largely due to the ivory trade - leaving an estimated 415,000 wild elephants alive today. The elephant is a vegetarian animal and is found . All elephants are at risk. 43. 1, 2019, pp. When coming out of a bath in a river, elephants will often throw mud or clay on themselves as a layer of protection. The smell of water is so familiar to them that they can recognize it from a distance of three miles! 15 Fun Facts About Elephants Tyrone Bennett December 14, 2020 1. This means that they communicate through vibrations. Female and male African elephants have tusks, but only the male Asian elephants have tusks. Elephants life expectancy is 60 to 70 years old. I want to be a animal vet so Im writing paragraphs about them! 2. They may touch or nudge each other with their trunks to show affection or get another's attention. An elephants trunk is sensitive enough to pick up a blade of grass but strong enough to rip branches off a tree. Each elephant has completely unique ears. 111-115., doi:10.1007/s10164-018-0563-y, Blanc, J. These animals play a vital role in their ecosystems and contribute to tourism and community incomes in many areas. Extremely dexterous, elephants can form a joint with their trunk to pile up small materials like grains. But they also specialize in low frequency rumbles and are able to pick up sounds in an unusual way. The back part of the elephants ears is called its knuckles and its known as the softest part of their body. Height: about 3 feet tall. They can see themselves in a mirror. To maintain such a large body, elephants need to eat a lot of food. Unfortunately, with only 40,000-50,000 left in the wild, this species is classified as endangered. This is why those that work closely with them have to get a vaccination to prevent it. An elephant will spend about 16 hours eating in a single day. You can unsubscribe at any time. Now, that is a lot of shit! Even among unrelated animals, elephants show interest, examining, touching, and smelling the deceased animal. They're made from ivory; a much desired object. This information was really good for me to know!! On average, 96 elephants are poached every day for their ivory out of an estimated total population of 350,000 savanna elephants. The African Savanna (Bush) elephant is the world's largest land animal with adult males, or bull elephants, standing up to 3m high and weighing up to 6,000kg on average. Elephants sleep very little. Asian elephants are threatened by habitat loss and conflict with humans. 36. 19. The Asian elephant is endangered and the African elephant is vulnerable. Discounts at Africas best lodges and on our hand-made packages subscribers only, STORIES & DISCUSSIONS He can pick up small objects such as peanuts using his trunk. When the elephants heard the voices of the group they feared, they were more likely to act defensively by grouping tightly together and smelling the air to investigate. Female Sumatran . Elephants are the only mammal that cannot jump. Each herd is led by the oldest female in the group. This compares to 639 muscles in the entire human body! They grow to between 8.2 and 13 feet (2.5 and 4 meters) tall at the shoulder and weigh 5,000 to 14,000 lbs. This large mammal can drink up to 80 gallons of water in one single day. Primates, vol. Buy elephant-friendly fair trade coffee and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood products. There are three species of elephant: African Savanna (Bush), African Forest and Asian. Elephants can eat up to 600 pounds of food in a single day. An elephants tusk can weigh up to 22 pounds each. this was great i was doing a school project on elephants and this worked great!! Here are some more fun facts about elephants for kids to amuse their young minds: Elephants have long noses, which are called the trunks! Kids who love elephants find them fascinating because of their sheer size and gentle demeanor. (UK) +44 (23) 9387-7464 With a stranger appearance to their African cousins, the Sumatran Elephant is almost completely bald with small rounded ears. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, vol. The African elephant has two distinct species the forest and the savanna elephants. 26. When flapped, they act as big fans, cooling the blood that runs close to the surface behind their ears. Bathing helps get rid of pests and parasites. Filled with over 40,000 muscles, an elephant's trunk is powerful and extremely sensitive. They have a poor hearing, despite having such large ears. However, a large concentration of the neurons (97.5%) is found in the cerebellum. The average elephant's skin can be around 2.5 cm thick all over its body. Elephants may look bald from a distance but they actually have hair. "Elephas maximus: Asiatic elephant." African elephants are listed as CITES I (threatened with extinction) in all African countries except for Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, where they are listed as CITES II (not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled to avoid utilisation incompatible with their survival). There are about 50,000 muscles in an elephant's trunk, made up of six muscle groups, and no bones. It is estimated that there are only 25 to 30 tuskers left (bulls with tusk weight of more than 45 kg on each side), with poachers and trophy hunters threatening the remaining individual elephants. They are famous for splashing and showering themselves and others with sprays from their trunks. Asian elephants are usually found in Southeast and South Asia. 20. that need your help. Thank you so very much Check out our list of 115 elephants to learn more about these wonderful creatures! Wonderful information for those who do not know but have you ANY idea how incredibly annoying and irritating those animated gifs are? #5: Cartoons lieelephants dont like peanuts. An elephant will reach out its trunk and use its sense of smell to determine which foods to eat. There are about 50,000 muscles in an elephants trunk, made up ofsix muscle groups, and no bones. It is believed that elephants have special receptors in their feet and trunk. This was attempted a number of times but the result was always the same it wouldnt go. The older the female is, the higher her rank in the herd. If a member of their herd dies, they show sadness and grieve the loss of their family members long after they have passed away. They can weigh up to 260 pounds. Elephants wave their trunks to help them smell better. Paul Zasky 6. Elephants also face human threats. Skin folds help retain moisture and keep the animals cool, which means that either specie has evolved to adapt to its habitat. When elephants swim, they use their trunk as a snorkel. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2008, doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2008.rlts.t7140a12828813.en. Due to grinding and chewing plant material, their set of teeth wear down, and the next set pushes through. They can swim for long distances. Apparently this helps them to learn how to use their trunks more effectively. Frontiers in Zoology, vol. 2, 2014, p. 60. Elephants are the largest living land animals on earth. However, sadly in 2012, after a sudden heart attack, Anthony passed away. 17-27., doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.016, Goldenberg, Shifra Z., and George Wittemyer. They dont eat them in the wild, and zoos dont feed them to their captive elephants. Elephants can recognize themselves in the mirror. All travel bookings booked via Trust my Travel are financially protected by them. They produce six sets of teeth in their lives, with each set pushing forward from the back of the jaw to replace worn teeth at the front. Elephants prefer living near water bodies because they consume water in large quantity. What's more, the researchers found the elephants also responded with less intensity to female and younger male voices, becoming most agitated at the voices of adult males. An elephant in a zoo in Korea has learned to mimic commands zoo keepers gave it, and it has learned eight words and their context. African elephants are usually around 10 feet tall, weighing 8,000 to 16,000 pounds. On average, the ear sizes of an African elephant and an Asian elephant are very different. Although their hide looks tough, elephants have sensitive skin that can get sunburned. 1. However, some genetic studies suggest that the African elephant is two separate speciessavannah elephants and forest elephants. As their habitat changes, fragments and is lost to human settlements and agriculture, populations of Asian elephants are finding it harder to follow their traditional migration routes to reach water, feeding and breeding grounds, and theyre coming into often dangerous contact with people. An African elephant has two trunk tip fingers and the Asian elephant has only one finger on the tip of its trunk. It can even lift a feather! This is an interesting fact about elephants that you can tell your kids or friends. The trunk can detect vibrations, suck water and gently stroke. Elephants breathe through their trunks 80% of the time. 37, no. And they are the only mammals in the world who cannot do so. Elephants eat grasses, leaves, shrubs, fruits and roots depending on the season and their habitat. Elephants have fingers at the tips of their trunksAfrican elephants have two and Asian elephants have onethat allow them to pick up tiny objects. She is a contributing writer in science for Smithsonian.com and blogs at Wild Things, which appears on Science News. Check out this video as a good example. 119-128., doi:10.1007/s10329-019-00766-5. It is possible for an elephant family unit to meet and bond with other units. Female elephants can have babies until they are in their 50s.