What is Special About Elephants?

Have you ever wondered about all of the cool things an elephant can do? Well aside from being the largest living land mammal, elephants have tons of more interesting qualities and talents. For example, the elephants trunk weighs up to 400 pounds, but can pick up things as small as a grain of rice.

Elephants can actually recognize themselves in the mirror.

They join apes, humans, and dolphins as the only animals with self awareness. "This would seem to be a trait common to and independently evolved by animals with large, complex brains, complex social lives and known capacities for empathy and altruism, even though the animals all have very different kinds of brains," researcher Dana Reiss told LiveScience.

What are elephants scared of?

As big and protective and elephant can seem, believe it or not, they also get scared, just like human beings. Elephants are afraid of bees, in fact, farmers use beehives as deterrents against elephants coming onto their property.

Elephants can give birth til what age?!

As crazy as it seems, elephants can give birth until they're 50 years old. Humans don't usually give birth at that age, but a few elephants have given birth to calves up to 60 years of age.

Female elephants

As human beings, women are pregnant for 9 months, well that is not the case with elephants. Elephants are pregnant for 22 months, which is also the longest gestation period of any mammal. In contrast to humans, their menstrual cycles are between three and four months long. This means that they have a limited number of chances to get pregnant annually.

Baby elephants

As humans suck their thumbs, elephants also suck their trunks for comfort. Unlike humans, elephants are born blind. Also, they weigh up to 260 pounds at birth. Imagine giving birth to a creature that large.

The oldest elephant lived to be 86 years old. He was called Lin Wang and drafted into the Japanese army during World War II.

Greetings!

As humans do, elephants also greet one another by huddling their trunks.

Elephants with long lashes?

There is no need for mascara on elephants, since their eyelashes can be up to five inches long. Elephants have the longest eyelashes of any animal in the world.

Emotional elephants?

Just like human beings, elephants also have feelings. They are extremely emotional creatures. Elephants can even grieve lost family members. For example, when a mother loses her baby, they've been known to go through a really depressive state, and they could even drag their baby's body along behind them for days.

Relatives

The elephant's closest living relative is the hyrax, which resembles "a large guinea pig with a grouchy-looking overbite." According to The Dodo, elephants, rock hyraxes, and manatees all "descend from a common hoofed ancestor."

Can elephants jump?

The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump, despite how crazy it may seem. The elephants always keep one foot planted on the ground even when they're running. The reason being is that they are just too heavy, and they stand on their toes.

Firefighter elephants!?

Elephants can be trained to fight fires by carrying crews and equipment into remote areas, as they did in Indonesia in 2015. Business Insider reported that they helped transport crews and equipment through difficult terrain in Indonesia.

How do elephants breathe underwater?

The trunks of elephants serve as snorkels when they swim. Naturally, they are able to swim. Humans and primates are the only mammals that have to learn to swim, according to Wild Animal Park.

Sleppy elephants?

Elephants yawn the same as us humans.

You can watch a videos of elephants yawing right here!https://youtu.be/pOR-p0GlLnQ