Seeing an elephant tops many of our riders’ lists when they come to Africa, especially those on the Waterfalls and Wildlife trip. Here’s a primer to get you started.
14 Fun Facts About Elephants
- There are three distinct species of elephants left in the world: the Asian elephant, the African forest, and African savannah species. African elephants have large ears shaped like the continent of Africa! Asian elephants’ ears are smaller and shaped like India.
- The elephant’s gestation period is twenty-two months. A new-born weighs up to 260 pounds and can stand up shortly after birth.
- African elephants are the largest land mammals on the planet.
- Elephants spend between twelve to eighteen hours eating grass, plants and fruit every single day. They use their long trunks to smell their food and lift it up into their mouth.
- Elephants don’t like peanuts.
- Each elephant creates about one ton of dung per week, which keeps the soil fertile and disperses tree seeds.
- An elephant’s average age span is from fifty to seventy years. The oldest known elephant lived for eight-six years.
- Elephant tusks are modified incisors that grow throughout its lifetime—about seven inches a year. Elephants use tusks to dig for salt, water and roots, debark trees, and clear a path. They also mark trees to establish territory. Both male and female African elephants grow tusks, but only male Asian elephants grow them.
- The trunk, a fusion of its nose and upper lip, is an elephant’s most important limb. They use it to pick up a blade of grass or rip branches from a tree. When drinking, the elephant sucks up to fourteen litres of water at a time and blows it straight into its mouth.
- Elephants use its trunk to spray water on its body for bathing. It then sprays dirt and mud on its wet coat to act as a sunscreen and insect repellant when dry.
- Elephant ears radiate heat away from its body.
- Females live in tight family groups of about fifteen mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and daughters. The matriarch is usually the eldest female.
- Adult males have a reputation as loners but are surprisingly social. Read How Male Elephants Bond
- Elephants recognize themselves in the mirror.
Resources:
Photo credit: Jennifer Gamache
