Elephants are a truly fascinating species. They are complex animals with many unique adaptations to help them survive. Here are 10 things you may not know about elephants.
1. They cannot run.
Elephants do not run in the way we classify running. Running implies that there are moments when all feet are off the ground. Elephants cannot have all of their feet off the ground at once. Their version of running is called ambling. They can amble up to approximately 20 mph.
2. Peanuts are bad for them
Unlike cartoons, Elephants do not eat peanuts. Elephants would not find peanuts in the wild and they are not fed them in captivity. This misconception comes from the idea that circuses provided people peanuts to feed animals.
3. Elephants rumble to communicate.
The main form of communication between elephants is a rumble. The rumbles are sometimes loud enough to be heard but often times they cannot be detected by the human ear.
4. Elephants do not drink through their trunks.
An elephants trunk is a combination of their nose and upper lip. They cannot drink through it. Elephants can use their trunks to suck up a couple of gallons at a time and blow it into their mouths.
5. Tusks are actually modified teeth.
Elephants tusks are modified incisor teeth. Because of this, if the root is broken or damaged the tusk can be knocked out and will not grow back. Unlike our teeth, they only have one set of tusks.
6. Closest relative is a hyrax.
This guinea pig look-alike evolved from a common ancestor to the elephants. Their incisor teeth bare a striking resemblance to tusks. The two species have other commonalities such as having toenails and great hearing.
7. Elephants have hair.
Elephants have hair spread out over the body. It is easiest to notice the hair on their heads and back. This hair classifies them as mammals and is used to help cool them off.
8. Elephants cannot sweat.
Elephants lack perspiratory glands. Since they cannot sweat they use their large ears to cool themselves off. They can also cool off by throwing mud, fecal, and dirt on themselves.
9. Only sleep for 2 hours a night.
Elephants are observed to only need about two hours of sleep at night. Most elephants lie down to sleep. However, they can sleep standing up. Standing up while sleeping is more common for naps.
10. Over 40,000 muscles in the trunk.
An elephants trunk has more muscles in it that the entire human body. This allows elephants to use their trunk similarly to how we use our hands. They also have the ability to pick up large trees or small objects like a grape.
Hopefully, you have learned something new about elephants and now have a deeper understanding of these amazing animals.