Welcome back to Animal World. We hope you are
doing great and waiting eagerly for our videos. It today’s video we will be looking at the
majestic Elephant, an animal that never fails to mesmerize and captivate our attention.
In Today’s video, we will be looking at 10 mind blowing facts about the Elephants. So,
without much ado, let us jump right in friends! Fact Number 10: AROUND 90% OF AFRICAN ELEPHANTS HAVE
BEEN WIPED OUT IN THE PAST CENTURY Around 90% of African elephants have been wiped
out in the past century - largely due to the ivory trade - leaving an estimated
415,000 wild elephants alive today. Asian elephants are also under threat,
having declined by at least 50% in the last three generations. There are only around
48,000–52,000 individuals left in the wild. As their habitat changes, fragments and is lost to
human settlements and agriculture, populations of Asian elephants are finding it harder to follow
their traditional migration routes to reach water, feeding an
d breeding grounds, and they’re
coming into often dangerous contact with people. Fact Number 9:
AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS The elephant's temporal lobe (the area
of the brain associated with memory) is larger and denser than that of people -
hence the saying 'elephants never forget'. Elephants excel in long-term memory.
Elephants can remember an experience from when they were a baby throughout
their whole life. Elephants have some of the largest brains in the animal kingdom,
so their cerebr
al cortex is also very large. The cerebral cortex is the region of
the brain where memories are stored. Fact Number 8:
A BABY ELEPHANT CAN STAND WITHIN 20 MINUTES OF BIRTH
Amazingly, elephant calves are able to stand within 20 minutes of being born and
can walk within 1 hour. After two days, they can keep up with the herd.
This incredible survival technique means that herds of elephants can keep
migrating to find food and water to thrive. Fact Number 7:
THEY COMMUNICATE THROUGH VIBRATIONS Ele
phants communicate in a variety of ways
- including sounds like trumpet calls (some sounds are too low for people to hear), body
language, touch and scent. They can also communicate through seismic signals - sounds that
create vibrations in the ground - which they may detect through their bones.
Fact Number 6: ELEPHANTS ARE CONSTANTLY EATING
Elephants eat grasses, leaves, shrubs, fruits and roots depending on the season
and their habitat. When it’s particularly dry, elephants will eat more w
oody parts of trees
and shrubs like twigs, branches and barks. They need to eat up to 150kg of food per day –
that's around 375 tins of baked beans – although half of this may leave the body undigested.
Elephants eat so much that they can spend up to three-quarters of their day just eating.
Fact Number 5: THEY’VE GOT THICK SKIN
An elephant’s skin is 2.5cm thick in most places. The folds and wrinkles in their
skin can retain up to 10 times more water than flat skin does, which helps to cool th
em down.
They keep their skin clean and protect themselves from sunburn by taking regular dust and mud baths.
Fact Number 4: THEIR TUSKS ARE ACTUALLY TEETH
Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth which first appear
when elephants are around 2 years old. Tusks continue growing throughout their lives.
Tusks are used to help with feeding - prising bark off trees or digging up roots
- or as a defense when fighting. But these beautiful tusks often cause
elephants danger. They're made fr
om ivory; a much desired object. Keep watching to
find out why elephants are under threat. Fact Number 3:
THEIR TRUNKS HAVE MAD SKILLS Elephants have around 150,000 muscle units
in their trunk. Their trunks are perhaps the most sensitive organ found in any mammal.
Elephants use their trunks to suck up water to drink – it can contain up to 8 litres
of water. They also use their trunks as a snorkel when swimming.
Fact Number 2 on the list is a Fact that is as crazy as it can get!
YOU CAN TELL T
HE THREE SPECIES APART BY THEIR EARS There are three species of elephant: African
Savanna (Bush), African Forest and Asian. The ears of African elephants are much larger than their
cousins and are described as being shaped like the African continent, whereas the ears of Asian
elephants are shaped like the Indian subcontinent. There’s also a trunk difference - African
elephants have two ‘fingers’ at the tip of their trunks, whereas Asian elephants have one.
And the Number 1 Fact in this list
is that: THEY’RE THE WORLD’S LARGEST LAND ANIMAL
The African Savanna (Bush) elephant is the world's largest land animal –
with adult males, or bull elephants, standing up to 3m high and weighing up to 6,000kg
on average. Males only reach their full size at 35-40 years - that’s well over half their lifespan
as wild elephants can live for up to 60-70 years. And it’s not just the adults – even calves
are huge! Can you believe that at birth, a baby elephant can weigh 120kg!
So that’s it friends.
These are the top 10 amazing facts about the majestic Elephant.
We hope you thoroughly enjoyed the video. At Animal World, we firmly advocate
Conservation. Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement
focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing
ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. The Earth is the only home we have
and it is our responsibility to protect it. We hope you liked today’s video. If you
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