Since the USS Kelly’s new spirit guide is the elephant, we thought we’d go over some interesting fact about them. All of the following information below on the African elephants, including the photos, are courtesy of the National Geographic website.
- African elephants are the largest mammals on Earth.
- Elephants are fond of water, and enjoy showering themselves by sucking water into their trunks and spraying it all over themselves.
- An elephant’s trunk is actually a long nose which is used for lots of things other than breathing and smelling. They will trumpet, drink through their trunk, and grab things – especially food.
- The trunk alone contains about 10,000 different muscles.
- Elephants use their tusks to dig for food and water, and also to strip bark from trees. Males also use them in battle.
- Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark – about 300 pounds of it per day.
- Elephants don’t sleep much, and they roam great distances while foraging.
- Elephant mothers are pregnant for about 22 months – that’s nearly two years!
- Baby elephants shed their first set of teeth and tusks, just like humans lose their baby teeth.
- Elephants make powerful low-frequency rumblings to communicate over long distances.
- An elephant’s brain has a very similar structure to humans.
- When an elephant dies, their family grieves. They may even revisit the bones of their deceased for years, touching them with their trunks. Not many animals do that.
Remember, our next activity will be going to the Hogle Zoo to view these majestic animals. We will be going on Saturday, September 21st. Time TBD.