Elephants are one of the largest species of animals that ever exist on the earth’s surface. Many aspects can be used to describe elephants. First, elephants have a big long trunk that plays various roles in their life. Their big body size may make you wonder what type of food the elephants feed on but true to nature, elephants are naturally big and are of different species. They are purely herbivorous, that is, they only feed on plants.
Elephants feed on leaves, the bark of trees, grass, fruits, flowers, and roots. The most nutritious diet for the elephants in the tree barks because they are very rich in calcium and also roughage and this creates favorable conditions for easier digestion of the food. A normal elephant can consume up to about 250 pounds of food in a day, that is for an adult elephant.
Elephants stay in areas where there is plenty of food and in a situation where food is inadequate they move from one place to another, often long distances, looking for enough food to feed on. Elephants are highly secluded from places that are near any human settlements because they are highly destructive especially when they find something to feed on and because they consume a large quantity of food. They acquire their food from tall trees by firmly holding the tree using their trunk and then shaking it for some time until the tree falls.
Elephant Habitat
Elephants often move from one place to another in search of food and water for their survival. However, these elephants do not just move to any place but move to specific places where they can find plenty of food. They normally conduct their migrations when it is the onset of a dry season, which is usually the period between July and October, and can move for a distance of up to 6 miles a single day. The reason for this movement is that when they settle on land they feed on almost all the vegetation that is available leaving the land almost bare.
The elephants are mostly found in savanna grasslands and rainforests where there is plenty of water and food for their consumption. They can also be found in highland regions, swamps, and tropical regions. These are ideal for them due to the availability of enough to feed on and drink. They normally sip water with their trunks and then spray it all over their body to clean themselves up and after doing so they apply ash to their bodies using the trunk.
With the increasing cases of poaching activity, the elephants are slowly changing their habitats and moving to safer areas. This has caused a major problem for the tourism sector as some elephant species are slowly becoming distinct over time.
How Much Does An Elephant Weigh?
Since elephants are the largest living land animals on the earth’s surface, their total weight is significantly higher than all other animals that are in existence. This weight however differs depending on the age of the elephant. For instance, the weight of a newly born elephant cannot be the same as the weight of a 2-year-old elephant.
The weight of an adult elephant can go up to 16,000 pounds, which is about 7,000 Kilograms. A newly born elephant on the other hand can weigh up to 200 pounds. Speculations also show that the weight of a male elephant differs from the weight of a male elephant. Male elephants weigh slightly more pounds than female elephants. The largest elephants are believed to come from Africa and can weigh up to even 9,000 Kilograms for a single adult elephant.
In general, adult elephant weight ranges from 5,000 pounds to 12,000 pounds whereas newly born elephants weigh between 200 and 400 pounds. This reason, therefore, makes elephants the biggest animals in the world and also the heaviest.
Do Elephants Have Teeth?
All elephants normally have special structures that are located in the head region known as tusks. These tusks are special incisors for the elephant and are always two in number. This, therefore, means that elephants usually have teeth. The normal incisors in humans perform the function of biting and cutting food but for the elephants, their special incisors perform a wide range of different functions. The elephants use their tusks to dig. In circumstances where they want to dig roots and uproot them, they use the tusks for this purpose. The tusks are also used to lift different kinds of objects. These objects may be trees, roots, or even when defending themselves against an enemy.
Tusks are also used to offer protection for the trunk against any mechanical injury, act as a defense tool when facing the enemy, and also tear the barks of trees that the elephants then feed on. Elephant tusks are of great value and this is why the cases of illegal poaching keep rising every day.
Everybody has to take the responsibility of reporting any individual practicing the heinous act of illegal poaching to the nearest authority. Failure to stop illegal poaching in the country will lead to the extinction of various species of elephants and hence reducing tourists’ visits to the country.
What Do Elephants Use Their Trunk For?
The trunk of an elephant is an elongated body structure that comprises the nose of the elephant. Apart from being the nose of the elephant it also plays other roles in an elephant’s life.
The trunk is used by elephants to uproot and break trees because it is strong and flexible enough. It can also be used to reach tree branches that are in tall trees by prolonging it and then using it to break the branch or the whole tree. Besides this, the trunk is used to sip water and spray it on the elephant’s body to clean itself and also drink the water. It can also be used to alert on an incoming danger by uttering the sharp blowing sound and also using the sound to threaten any enemy that might try to harm the elephant. Finally, the trunk can be used to greet, throw dust over the body and also caress.
The elephant’s trunk is very useful to its life because without it the elephant’s life would have been at stake. Research shows that the trunk normally contains over 60,000 muscles that strengthen it for better performance for the above-mentioned purposes.