30 facts about the elephants that will surprise you
These great Brained creatures are hardly dumbos!
It's not secret that elephants areextraordinary animals. These magnificent animals have an impressive size, some of the most intelligent creatures on the planet and, of course, they have huge floppy rolls that make them insensiously adorable. But it turns out, there is much more to learn about elephants than you already know.
For example, did you know that about 2,000 pounds of a heavy weight of an elephant consist of his skin alone? Or what they are one of the only animals that can identify in a mirror? Read it, because the more you learn about these sweet giants, the more you will be struck with them.
1 Elephants can tell your gender, your age and ethnicity in your voice.
In the case of elephants, large brains really make greater intelligence. Depending on the results published inActs of the National Academy of Sciences In 2014, these creatures are so intelligent that they can determine ethnicity, sex and even the age of a human acoustic signals they can pick up in their voices. The researchers believe that elephants use this incredible skill to identify possible human threats and adjust their behavior accordingly.
2 Some elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror.
Elephants are not just good to recognize human voices, they can also recognize their own reflection. In another study published in theActs of the National Academy of Sciences In 2006, scientists discovered that Asian elephants know they look at each other while looking in a mirror, aSelf-consciousness level that only very intelligent dolphins, monkeys and humans similar to animals, are known to display. Lookin 'good, guys!
3 Elephants can "hear" with their feet.
Elephants can have massive ears, but they can also take over noises by their feet, which regrets low frequency rumbling caused by other animals up to 20 miles away, according to researchers atStanford University.
"We think they detect these underground vibrationsthrough their feet", explained the study authorCaitlin O'Connell-Rodwell, a subsidiary of the Stanford Center for the Biology of Conservation. "The seismic waves could travel from their nails to the ear via bone conduction, or by somatosensory receptors in the foot similar to the one found in the trunk."
4 They make their own solar screen.
If you spend a quantity from outside under the hot sun, you know how important it is toProtect harmful UV rays With sunscreen. And elephants, who live in some of the most sunny places on the planet, know it too. They save painful burns using sand as a natural solar screen to cover their skin, according toSmithsonian. They will even cover their young sand while they sleep to keep them safe. AWW!
5 Elephants can transform the rose.
Most elephants have a gray skin, even if it sometimes seems brown thanks to the reddish sand they cover for protection. However, whenAsian elephants Aging, they can start losing pigment in their skin; As a result, parts of their body, such as their trunks, start transforming the rose.
It turns out, however, that this pink color is not exclusively for seniors: in 2009, aPink baby elephant was spotted in Botswana and was considered an extremely rare Africa Elephant Africa.
6 Just like humans are right or left-handed, elephants are right or left.
Elephants use their defenses - which are actually a pair of the animalsuperior incisors-In all kinds of practical means, to dig up the fight. But they use one more than the other. Yes, just like humans, elephants have a guarantor that is more dominant. You can usually say what is the animal »Tusk master"Because it's often the shortest of both, with a tip that has been rounded up using, according to McGill's computer school.
7 And their defenses never stop growing.
The defenses of an elephant continue to grow throughout their lives - and they grow upa lot. According to McGill, the defenses of an adult man grow approximately seven inches each year. So, if you observe an elephant with particularly long defenses, this can be an old age indicator.
8 They use "Cologne" to find a companion.
Scientists believe that when male elephants are in "Musth", a period ofHigh levels of testosteroneThey produce pheromones to attract females. Well-known elephant researcherJoyce Poole Suggests that animals could steal their ears in order to fan this "Cologne Elephant" as much as possible, according to McGill.
9 Female elephants fall pregnant once every five years.
When female elephants are between 12 and 15 years old, they are at an age where they are ready to mise and will continue to do so until about 50. However, they do not fall pregnant each year. In fact, most elephants will only maketo give birth Once every five years. But there is a very specific reason for that ...
10 And their pregnancies last almost two years.
When human parents areWaiting for a new baby To arrive, nine months may seem a very long period. But it's nothing compared to the long duration of a female elephant, also called a cow - must wait before it does not give it. Each pregnancy lasts about 22 months, which is the longest gestation period for any mammal, according to the research published inActs of Royal Society.
11 Male elephants can stay with their mothers up to two decades.
Male elephants tend to live alone or with small groups of other men. But it's just when they are adults. From the moment they were born until they areteensFor 10 to 20 years, they stay with their mothers and live with a group of female elephants.
12 An elephant woman raises all the babies of the flock.
The oldest elephant of a group of women is considered thematron, which assumes a role of leadership in the flock. She is responsible for taking care of the offspring and making decisions that affect the survival of the group, such as the flight of danger and the search for food sources.
13 The trunk of an elephant contains about 100,000 muscles.
Elephants perform a ton with their trunks, deliver water to mouth, stripping tree leaves, to make their signature trumpet sound. How do they do all this? They areveryBuff, it turns out. A trunk of an elephant has about 100,000 different muscles,National Geographic reports.
14 And these trunks may contain more than two gallons of water.
Elephants do not really use their trunks like a straw, because some people could believe. Instead, animals suck water in their trunks and spray it in the mouth forquench. It's a fairly effective process to judge by the fact that adult elephants can hold around2.25 gallons (or 8.5 liters) of water in their trunks.
15 Elephants have a "finger" on their trunk.
On the tip of an Asian elephant trunk is an extension that gives appendix its dexterous capacity and allows the animal to grasp things and pick them up a lot like humans. That's why this tip is called "finger. "
16 African elephants have ears like the continent of Africa.
If you meet an elephant and you are not sure of the type you met, just look at their ears, according toNational Geographic. African elephants, the largest species of elephant, have ears that are roughly shaped as the continent they call at home. Asian elephants are slightly smaller and have ears that look like India.
17 Asian elephants lack a nail nail.
In addition to their ears, another way to identify an elephant consists of looking at their rear feet. Although Asian and African elephants have five toes on each foot, Asian elephants tend to have only four nails on their back feet,SmithsonianRemarks.
18 Elephants may have developed a sixth end.
Despite the fact that some elephants have only four nails, somewhere on the line, other elephants may have developed an additional toe to improve their posture, according to the conclusions published by theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science In 2011. What scientists previously rejected as "cartilaginous curiosities" have now thought of "acting functionally like numbers", which means that Bonney bit can be like another toe.
19 And the shoulder size of an elephant will determine the size of their feet before.
You may not think that a shoulders of an elephant have something to do with their feet, but if you areReady to make mathematics, there is actually a clear correlation. According toSmithsonianThe height of an Asian or African elephant on the shoulder is "approximately equivalent to the circumference of their foot before multiplied by two."
20 The closest lifting of the elephant is much smaller than expected.
If you had to guess what animal is the nearest parent closest to the elephant, you can choose a hippopotamus or even a walrus. You probably do not go with the right answer, thehyraxSince this is-Africa mammal is only 8 to 11 pounds, has no trunk or defenses and looks like a fur rodent.
21 Elephants are the only mammals to have four knees.
As humans, most mammals have two knees and two elbows.Think of a dog: The joints where Bend before legs are considered elbows, while the joints of the rear legs are knee. However, elephants are the only mammals that have four knees turned forward, according to McGill.
22 Elephants are neither day nocturne.
Most creatures are either daytime (awake during the day and sleep at night) like humans, or nocturnal (mainly active during the night) like owls. But elephants reserve more specific windows for activity. Classified astwilight, They tend to sleep during the nightand Rest throughout the day, with dawn and twilight being their busy time.
23 They eat 300 to 600 pounds of food a day.
The elephants spend about 16 hours a day in search of food to satisfy their huge appetite. The grass represents half of their diet, while the rest consists of a combination of bamboo, tree bark, root, leaves, fruits, seeds, flowers and even. Incredibly, every elephant consumes adult from 300 to 600 pounds of vegetation every day, notes of McGill, although about 60 percent of which passes through the body of the animal without being really digested.
24 There are salt elephants underground mines.
We tend to think of elephants like creatures that wander in the vast grazing plains on the grass, but there is actually a group of huge animals as head underground every time they are looking for 'a snack, according toAnimal planet. The elephants in Mount Elgon, Kenya, were known to go down in the Kitum Cave of the region, where they then use their defenses to free themselves from salt underground shelters before eating the tasty treat.
25 Elephants are the largest terrestrial animals on Earth.
Modern elephants might be theclosest thing we have dinosaurs, At least with regard to their gigantic waist. Elephants are the largest terrestrial animals and male African elephants in the world, the biggest species, grow up to more than nine feet high, weighing between 9000 and 16500 pounds,National Geographicreports. The biggest elephant ever recorded was even more massive than that, and weighed about 26,400 pounds.
26 And their only skin can weigh a ton.
You already know that elephants are heavy impressively, but did you realize how much this weight could be attributed to their skin alone? According toInternational Elephant Foundation, The skin of an elephant can weigh up to 2000 pounds and grow as thick as one inch.
27 Elephants are enormous when they are born.
Elephants are not only massive when they are adult adults, they are already giants when they were born first.Elephant from Africa Usually great and already around three feet weigh about 200 pounds at birth. And they drink about 3 liters of milk every day to support their growing bones.
28 The smallest elephant is the Pygmy of Borneo of the world.
The smallest elephants that have never existed on earth were around the size of big pigs and lived in Crete up to 5000 AV today, according toGUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, The smallest elephant is the Pygmy of Borneo, but they are still a pretty good size: male adults grow between big five and eight feet and weighs about 5000 pounds (which is a picture of one, above).
29 An elephant paint times sold for $ 39,000.
They can not be in what piece piece byPicasso Ask the auction, but a group of elephants made their mark and brought the big males with their own art. A painting painted by eight elephants of Chiang Mai, Thailand, sold for $ 39,000 in 2005, making it the most expensive painting ever by elephants, according toGuinness.
30 Elephants are not really like peanuts.
Despite what television and movies would like you to believe, peanuts are not a natural part of an elephant's diet. According toMarie Galloway, The elephant manager atSmithsonian National ZooThey are certainly "not a favorite food" animals. She explains that peanuts have too much protein for creatures, who need a rich fiber diet, which is why they prefer to eat grass, fruits and vegetables. And for a little more elephant pleasure, check out the20 Elephant jokes so funny you'll laugh your trunks off.
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