14 Facts You Didn't Know About Elephants

Elephants are more than just the gentle giants of the animal kingdom. They are intelligent, emotional, and vital to the ecosystem. While their enormous size and iconic tusks make them instantly recognisable, there is so much more to these incredible mammals that many would not know of. In this feature, uncover ten fascinating facts about elephants that reveal their hidden talents, deep social bonds, and surprising skills.

Elephants Can Hear with Their Feet

Elephants pick up on seismic vibrations (the shaking or trembling of the earth’s surface) through the ground using sensitive nerve endings in their feet and trunk tips, helping them sense distant movement and calls.

Elephant Ears Help Regulate Their Body Temperature

An elephant's large ears act like radiators. Blood flows through the ear's many veins, and flapping them helps cool the elephant down in humid conditions.

Elephants Mourn Their Dead

Elephants have been observed touching, standing vigil, and even returning to the bones of deceased herd members, showing signs of grief and memory. They do this by cautiously extending their trunks and gently touching the body of the deceased.

They Are Excellent Swimmers

Despite their size, elephants are great swimmers. Although they are great swimmers, they would rather use their trunks as snorkels and cross rivers and lakes with ease while walking through them, being fully submerged.

Elephant Calves Suck Their Trunks

Just like human babies suck their thumbs, young elephants often suck their trunks for comfort as they learn to use them. Due to baby elephants not having full control over their trunks, they must learn how to use them by exploring the objects and environment around them and touching fellow members of the herd.

Their Trunks Have Over 40,000 Muscles

An elephant's trunk is a complex tool with incredible skill. Their trunks are used for breathing, smelling, drinking, trumpeting, and even picking up tiny and very large objects.

Elephants Are Matriarchal Mammals

Herds are led by an older female known as the matriarch. Her experience helps guide the group's movements and decisions, especially during droughts or danger.

They Can Recognise Themselves in a Mirror

Elephants are one of the few animals capable of self-recognition, a sign of advanced cognitive abilities and intelligence. They are among a few other animals that are well known for their superior intelligence and complex social classifications and are thought to possess the highest forms of empathy and altruism (unselfish concern) in the animal kingdom.

Elephants Communicate with Infrasound

Elephants use low-frequency sounds below the human hearing range to communicate across distances of numerous kilometres.

They Are the Ecosystems Engineers

Elephants shape their environments by creating water holes, dispersing seeds, and opening pathways through dense vegetation, benefiting countless other species.

Elephants Have Remarkable Memory

The saying ‘an elephant never forgets’ holds some truth, as elephants can remember water sources, migration routes, and even individuals for many years. This helps them survive in tough conditions.

They Show Forms of Empathy

Elephants have been seen comforting distressed herd members, assisting injured members, and even attempting to help dying or deceased elephants, displaying their complex emotional awareness.

Elephant Skin is Surprisingly Sensitive

Though it looks thick and tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. They can feel a fly landing on them, which is why they frequently dust themselves or bathe in mud to protect themselves from insects and sunburn. Yes, animals sunburn too.

They Sleep Less Than Most Mammals

Wild elephants sleep surprisingly little, from about 2 to 4 hours per day. They do this often while standing. Their need to roam for food and stay alert in the wild contributes to this short sleep cycle.

If you think you have the memory of an elephant, try remembering these elephant facts and share them with your friends and family!

Author: Alyssia Doolabh