The African elephant has large ears and some say it is shaped indeed like the map of the African continent! The Asian elephant on the other hand has smaller ears. Now, the elephant's ears are most important because they flap it to cool off their bodies in the hot sun. Some say its actually like an air conditioner! I talked a bit on the tusks but what i didn't mention was that elephant tusks are made of ivory. You are probably aware that poachers kill these beautiful animals just for a piece of the ivory. In fact, elephants are more sought after than rhinos because of a diamond pattern that appears on the tusk giving a distinct luster.
Interestingly, the trunk not only acts as a lip but a nose too! The trunk has two nostrils at the end that suck up air into their lungs. Elephants use their trunks to drink but do not suck up the water all the way. You may have seen it do this before. Instead, it curls its trunk towards its mouth, tilts its head up and lets the water pour into its mouth. Seems like a lot of work, right? And may i add they drink between 75 to 190 litres of water per day!
Elephants live to eat...literally! They spend an average 16 hours per day eating! According to the San Diego Zoo, Bush elephants are grazer-browsers and feed on grass, shrubs and small trees while forest elephants are browser-frugivores and feed on leaves, fruits, branches and bark.
We all know that elephants make the sound called the trumpet but what you may not know is that they also make other sounds whose frequency is too low for our ears...they use this to communicate with one another over long distances...
There is indeed so much to learn from these sociable creatures...don't you feel a little bit more connected to this animal now? I sure do :)
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