Curiosities: What is the life of an elephant like?

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Elephants are considered the largest terrestrial representatives of wildlife. But not only their size and power are incredible: these animals are extremely intelligent and sociable. They take care of their families and their lives are governed by many laws and social norms.

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These herbivorous giants, which combine incredible strength and tenderness, can keep the memory of long-dead relatives and mourn the loss of loved ones.

Want to know even more interesting facts about elephants?

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1. These are the only living representatives of the group of mammals that once included the extinct American mastodon and mammoth. Manatees and damans are also considered relatives of elephants, as they have common ancestors, and manatees are kind marine giants, and damans are funny and clumsy animals the size of a cat.

2. Currently, elephants are divided into Africans and Asians, externally different from each other. DNA studies have shown that Africans are represented by two species. The former live in forests and the latter in savannas. Therefore, the total number of species of live elephants is three, while before, more than 12 thousand years ago, there were about 40 species.

3. Elephants are herbivores, their diet includes herbs, tree bark, leaves and fruits. They can spend about 18 hours a day eating. Well, since only 40 percent of the food consumed gives the animal the necessary feeling of satiety, the portions should be sufficient to meet the needs of its body. An adult animal usually eats about 180 kilograms of food per day and drinks between 100 and 180 liters of water. To quench their thirst, giants sometimes have to overcome many kilometers.
   

   
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4. Elephants use their impressive ears as a fan, and their ears also help scare away annoying insects, express emotions and look more impressive in the eyes of the enemy.

5. Males and females have fangs, but not all species, for example, females of Indian elephants do not have fangs. Fangs are mutated teeth that grow throughout the life of an animal. With the help of the fangs, they carry various objects, tear off the bark of the trees, clear roads, dig roots from the ground, fight against enemies. The average length of the fangs has decreased significantly in the last hundreds of years.

6. The tube is an incredible organ that is a continuation of the upper lip and nose of the animal. With the help of a trunk, the elephants eat, take several items, greet friends, scare away enemies, etc. It can even lift any object from the ground from a log to a match.
   

   
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Its trunk has tens of thousands of muscles, while in the human body there are less than 650! It allows you to organize a dusty or water shower (can hold up to eight liters of water). It is also an excellent periscope, which helps the animal to breathe underwater. Baby elephants suck their tubes to calm them, just like young children suck a pacifier. In order not to lose the mother, puppies often cling to their tail with their trunk.

7.A female elephant can only conceive a few days a year. Their pregnancy period is the longest among all mammals (in the African elephant - 22 months, in the Indian - 21). The weight of a newborn baby elephant can reach 120 kilograms!

8.live in families formed by females, representatives of several generations and young animals of different ages. The females remain with their clan all their life, while the males, after having turned 12-17 years, begin an independent life.

The family is run by a matriarch elephant. Their responsibilities include regulating the lifestyle of family members, maintaining cohesion and concern for safety. The matriarch makes decisions in extreme situations, for example, when it is necessary to attack the enemy and, on the contrary, flee. She teaches young mothers how to care for a puppy, and also prepares her successor, who in the future will have to run the family clan. The change of leader occurs only due to the death of the matriarch.

9.Elephants communicate with each other through touch and various sounds: grunts and whistles. In addition, they can emit sounds with such a low frequency that the human ear does not pick them up. Animals themselves can distinguish low frequency sounds over a distance of more than eight kilometers.

10.Elephants have an amazing memory that allows them to remember the complaints caused by people, as well as the places of important events. They do not forget their relatives, even tens of years after the separation. When they meet, they often form a circle, raising their heads up, clapping and blowing loudly.

11.They play an extremely important role in nature. These herbivorous giants help maintain biodiversity in their habitats. They are able to transfer seeds of plants up to a distance of 65 km, which makes them champions among land animals in this regard. Scientists believe that if elephants disappear from the face of the earth, this will become a disaster for many species of animals and plants.

These are not all more interesting facts. Below are some more features of elephants' lives:

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• do not sweat: the sebaceous glands are simply absent. - The original thermoregulators help them to cool: large ears;
• In order to protect from the scorching sun, insects and bites from the loss of liquids, the Giants take a mud bath;
  Elephants swim well, but they don't know how to gallop. In addition, it is the only animal that cannot jump;
• your teeth change 6 to 7 times during life;
• September 22 is World Elephant Day;
• The age of the giant herbivore in nature in favorable conditions is 60 to 70 years.

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