World Elephant Day: 7 Mind-blowing Facts and Trivia about Elephants

One of the most loved creatures on the planet, elephants are absolutely fascinating. These magnificent beasts not only are quite huge in size but are known to be quite smart as well. Well-known to be one of the largest mammals, they play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem.

Elephants have been killed for their tusks, poached and subject to mistreatment in captivity, which has threatened their existence to a large extent. And, this is the main reason why a large number of elephant conservation organisations across the globe are working towards protecting these wonderful creatures. Conserving natural habitats and bringing captive elephants to protected sanctuaries are some of the major goals of these organisations. The concept of ‘World Elephant Day’ was conceived on Aug 12, 2012, in order to raise awareness and bring attention to the troubles and challenges faced by this mammoth animal. Since then, every year, this day is celebrated and used as an opportunity to urge people to offer a sustainable and non-exploitive environment to elephants.

So, to commemorate this day, let’s look at some of the most interesting and mind-blowing facts about elephants, which will make you appreciate them even more. (And, who knows, you might also feel the need to do your bit to protect this amazing species!)

Elephants are the world’s largest animals on land:

Owing to their large size, the African elephants are undoubtedly the largest creatures to be found on land. Male African elephants can weigh nearly 6 tonnes and have an approximate height of 3 metres. Absolutely huge, right! But, there is one catch to it as well. Male elephants reach their full size between 35 and 40 years of age. This amounts to half of their lifetime as the average lifespan of wild elephants is nearly 60-70 years. And, if you are wondering if only adult elephants are huge, then you are in for a great surprise. Even the elephant calves are born huge; at birth, a calf has a weight of almost 120 kg!

Elephants can be differentiated from their thin ears:

Yes, this is true! Don’t believe us? Read on to find more about this amazing trivia. So, basically, there are two main species of elephants, Asian and African. The ears of the Asian species are much smaller as compared to their African counterparts. It is also said the ears of the Asian ones are in the shape of the Indian subcontinent, while African elephants’ ears look more like that of the shape of the African continent.

Their tusks are their teeth:

Elephants’ perfect companion in everything they do, their tusks aka teeth usually starting appearing around two years of age. Moreover, their tusks are known to grow throughout their lifespan (no wonder, they are so huge!). Essential for gathering food, digging, feeding, stripping bark off trees and the most important defence, tusks are of utmost importance to elephants. Also, just like humans are left or right-handed, elephants too have a preference. Some favour using their right tusk for carrying out different activities, while some prefer making use of the left tusk.

Elephants are wonderful communicators:

Elephants are simply amazing when it comes to communication. They can communicate in a variety of ways, including touch, trumpet calls, scent and body language. Elephants are also capable of communicating through vibrations, which supposedly happens through their trunks and feet. It has also been observed that in order to listen, elephants tend to put their trunks on the ground and position their feet very carefully.

Elephant babies can stand in 20 minutes after birth:

Yes, this is absolutely true. Amazing, isn’t it? There is more to this fact. Not only calves are capable of standing on their feet within 20 minutes of being born, but they can also start walking in a span of 60 minutes. Wow! Furthermore, post 48 hours, they can walk in tandem with their herd. This implausible survival system is of great help to elephants. Owing to this, they can keep migrating from one place to another in search of water and food in order to survive.

They are extremely intelligent:

 Possessing a range of feelings and emotions which also includes self-awareness and extreme empathy, elephants are known to be highly intelligent animals. They have huge cortex in their brains, and they learn different skills from older elephants in their herd. Moreover, their temporal lobe is large and dense, owing to which they never tend to forget things.

Now that you are aware of how special these creatures are, make sure to play your part in helping not only maintain, but increase the population of this amazing species. You can volunteer for different projects as well that work towards protecting elephants from getting endangered.

Also, we hope you enjoyed these amazing facts. So, if you have any incredible fact or mind-blowing trivia to add to this list, then do let us know in the comments below. We would love to hear from you.

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