Everyone knows what an elephant is, that big animal that can suddenly go “Pawoo!” But do you know these elephant trivia?
1. They cannot jump. An elephant can run, walk, and even swim, but all four feet stay on the ground when it moves.
2. Baby elephants suck their trunks. It seems to be a way for them to feel safe and comfortable, much like babies sucking their thumbs.
3. They can recognize themselves in a mirror. Elephants have shown that they can understand that the elephant they see in a mirror is themselves.
4. An elephant’s trunk is like a nose and a hand combined. It helps them breathe, smell, touch, drink, pick up food, and explore.
5. Their trunks have tens of thousands of muscle units. This gives elephants amazing control. They can use their trunks to move heavy things or pick up small objects.
6. Their big ears help keep them cool. Blood moves through many tiny vessels in the ears, helping release body heat. Flapping the ears helps too.
7. Elephants are good swimmers. They can swim long distances, and they can use their trunks like snorkels when their bodies are underwater.
8. An elephant baby takes about 22 months to grow inside its mother. That is one of the longest pregnancies among mammals.
9. Tusks are actually teeth. They are large teeth that grow from the upper jaw and can keep growing for much of an elephant’s life.
10. Some elephants do not have tusks. This can happen naturally. In some places, tuskless elephants have also become more common because illegal hunters have killed elephants for their ivory.
11. African and Asian elephants have different ears. African elephants usually have much bigger ears, while Asian elephants have smaller, rounder ears.
12. Elephant families are usually led by females. A herd often includes mothers, daughters, sisters, and their young. Adult males usually live on their own or in small groups.
13. Older elephants can remember important places. A mother or grandmother elephant may remember where to find water and food and which routes are safe.
14. Elephants have a very strong sense of smell. Their trunks help them find food and water and learn what is around them.
15. Elephants can make very low sounds. Some of these sounds are so low that people cannot hear them. Other elephants can hear them from far away.
16. They can sense vibrations through the ground. Vibrations can travel through the earth, and elephants may sense them through their feet.
17. Elephants have been seen paying attention to their dead. They have been observed touching and staying near the bodies or bones of other elephants.
18. Elephants help other animals too. By digging, breaking branches, pushing over trees, and spreading seeds, they can change the land and create useful spaces for other animals.
19. “Pawoo!” is not their only sound. Elephants also trumpet, rumble, squeak, roar, and make other sounds to communicate.
20. Elephants can learn and remember many things. They can learn from experience, remember other elephants, find their way around familiar places, and solve problems.
Bonus: Meet Spanky!
Long before today’s cartoon elephants, there was Spanky the Elephant, a friendly puppet on Uncle Bob’s Lucky 7 Club, which began airing on Channel 7 in 1961. Spanky was one of the early Filipino TV characters that brought an elephant to life for young viewers.
⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ