The largest land mammal on Earth, African elephants are very intelligent creatures. These 25 amazing facts about elephants will give you more of a glimpse into the lives of these beautiful animals.
Elephants can uproot trees and knock down walls.
Elephants have a very long trunk that can be used as a snorkel. Elephants can smell water from miles away and even through the ground. Their trunks are also extremely strong, capable of carrying up to 400 pounds at once. This strength is evident in their ability to uproot trees and knock down walls to get to water sources.
They live in a matriarchal society which means the females make the rules.
Elephants live in a matriarchal society, which means the females make all of the rules. This can be seen from the fact that elephants are one of the only species in which their leader has to be female if they want to survive. The matriarch is usually older than 50 years old and has been around for several generations; therefore she has more experience and knowledge about their surroundings than any other member of her herd.
The matriarchs decide where they will go when they leave their sleeping area at night and how long they will stay in feeding areas during the day. They also decide where they will go during migration as well as what activities need to occur while there (such as breeding).
Interestingly enough, this also makes them responsible for disciplining members within their herd since only adults can discipline juveniles or young adults who don’t follow rules properly; juveniles cannot discipline adults.
Females will stay with their mothers their entire lives.
Female elephants stay with their mothers and grandmothers their entire lives, forming a matriarchal society. They are very protective of their young, sometimes sacrificing themselves to save them from danger. Elephants are also very social and intelligent animals, making them the perfect choice for zoos around the world.
Elephants can be trained to work with humans by using positive reinforcement techniques such as food rewards or tickling under the chin instead of more forceful methods like electric shocks or water hoses which would cause physical harm to these large animals. This is one reason why they make great zoo attractions: they’re so big that people wonder how in the world anyone could train them. Anyone who’s ever seen an elephant at a zoo knows how smart they are; there’s no way you could expect someone who weighs over 10 tons (11 tons actually) not be able to learn something new.
Elephants have a good memory.
Elephants have a good memory. They can remember the people they meet and the things they do. Elephants can remember where to find waterholes, even after many years. Elephants also remember their favorite food sources or enemies.
They have thick skin, but it does get sunburned.
Elephants are well-known for having thick skin. This is part of their natural defense against sunburn and dehydration. Elephants have very few sweat glands, so they can’t cool themselves off by sweating like humans do. They need to stay in the shade as much as possible in order to avoid getting sunburned, or else they risk developing skin cancer later in life.
Young elephants can run up to 25 miles per hour for short distances.
Elephants are the largest land mammals and the heaviest land animal on the planet. They can weigh up to 19,000 pounds (8 tons) and grow up to 13 feet tall. Their trunks are not just long noses—they’re also their primary means of communication and touch. Elephants have been observed using their trunks as a blind person would use a cane or guide dog: they’ll feel with it as they walk around in order to avoid obstacles, pick up objects off the ground or prevent themselves from stepping into puddles of water or mud.
Elephants spend about 16 hours each day eating grasses and bamboo shoots; however, because their diet doesn’t have much nutrition in it, an adult elephant needs 100-200 pounds per day just for maintenance! That’s why these massive animals sleep for six hours each night (or more if they’re sick). It’s also why young elephants can run up to 25 miles per hour for short distances, they need all that energy just so that their bodies don’t become malnourished!
An elephant’s trunk contains more than 150,000 muscles.
Did you know that an elephant’s trunk contains more than 150,000 muscles? That’s a lot! The trunk is a highly flexible appendage that combines the nose and upper lip. It can be used for smelling, drinking, eating, breathing, and communicating. You may have heard of some of these uses before: Elephants use their trunks to pick up sticks or water from holes in the ground; they also use them as snorkels when swimming underwater.
Elephants can even use their trunks to grab onto things or people; this is called grabbing. Once an elephant has grabbed onto something (or someone), it will not let go until told otherwise by its trainer or caretaker, this means that if you are ever grabbed by an elephant at a zoo or circus show then there is no need to worry because your safety will always be protected.
They can swim for long distances at a speed of about three miles per hour.
Elephants are capable of swimming for long distances at speeds up to three miles per hour. In fact, they can swim faster than they can run on land.
This is because elephants have more blood in their trunk than most mammals, which allows them to move through the water by sucking it into their trunks and then blowing it out again through their mouths. This creates a vacuum effect that helps propel them forward while also allowing them to breathe underwater without getting water in their lungs (which is dangerous).
Their tusks are overgrown teeth that can weigh more than 200 pounds each.
Elephants have tusks, which are actually overgrown teeth! They’re used for digging, stripping bark from trees, and fighting. These incisors can weigh as much as 200 pounds each (100 kilograms). Tusks are the only teeth that continue to grow throughout an elephant’s life, they become longer and straighter with age. The longest tusk ever recorded was 11 feet (3.35 meters) long.
They can hear low-frequency sounds from several miles away.
In addition to their keen eyesight, elephants can hear low-frequency sounds from several miles away.
The elephant’s trunk is the most flexible appendage in the animal kingdom. It can be used for drinking and breathing, but it also serves a more surprising function: It’s an extra limb that allows elephants to manipulate objects with their trunks while keeping their tusks at bay. In fact, when an elephant uses its trunk to pick up a piece of food or other object, it will often place its tusks behind its back so that they’re out of harm’s way.
The structure of an elephant’s skull is similar to a human brain.
Elephants have a structure in their brain similar to the human brain. The elephant’s frontal lobe, hippocampus, cerebellum, olfactory bulb and amygdala are larger than those of humans.
This makes them seem more intelligent than humans because they have more neurons in these areas. It also gives elephants the ability to learn new things quickly which is why they have been used as working animals for centuries.
The phrase “white elephant” came from a symbol of wealth, power, and blessing in Thailand and Myanmar, where they are rare and sacred animals that are considered gifts from heaven or favored by gods.
The phrase “white elephant” came from a symbol of wealth, power, and blessing in Thailand and Myanmar, where they are rare and sacred animals that are considered gifts from heaven or favored by gods.
In ancient Thai legend, white elephants were believed to possess nine virtues: sovereignty; strength; command; elegance; intelligence; skillful speech; wealth (from alms giving); morality (non-violence); purity
Elephants have many special features that distinguish them as unique animals
In addition to their tusks and trunk, elephants have a number of features that make them unique in the animal kingdom.
- Thick skin: Elephants are equipped with thick skin due to the fact that they live in hot climates and need something to protect them from harsh weather conditions. This helps them conserve large amounts of water by acting as a barrier between the heat of their bodies and the environment around them.
- A trunk: The trunk acts as an extension of their nose, which makes it very useful for collecting food sources like grasses, fruits, or leaves from trees above ground level. It also helps elephants communicate with each other through vocalizations such as grunts when they’re scared or hungry.
- Tusks: Tusks are elongated incisors growing out of upper jaw sockets above canine teeth (similarly positioned lower jaw). While not all male elephants grow tusks (some may only grow one), females generally do not have any even though both sexes can possess small ones if needed for defense purposes against predators trying to attack them during feeding times at nightfall each day when nocturnal predators hunt prey most efficiently across different regions worldwide where animals live together peacefully without fear until nightfall arrives every single day without fail except if someone else tries killing another person’s pet dog right before bedtime each night before going back home again tomorrow morning.”
Final words
Elephants are amazing creatures. They have many unique features that distinguish them from other animals. One of the most notable is their ability to communicate with each other over long distances using low-frequency sounds that humans can’t hear. Another interesting thing about elephants is their tusks, which are actually two incisors that grow continuously throughout their lifetime and can weigh up to 200 pounds each. Lastly, elephants have a very developed social structure where females make all decisions while males take care of babies and protect herds from predators like lions or hyenas.