10 Facts about Elephants

10 facts about elephants. Elephants are huge mammals that grace some of the protected areas of Africa and beyond, amazingly beautiful to watch as they freely range in herds. Elephants in Africa can easily be seen in most protected areas like national parks, that visitors on game drives and other safari activities can easily see them. Some of the best places to see elephants in the wild include Amboseli National Park Kenya with a beautiful backdrop of the Kilimanjaro Mountain, Tarangire National Park Tanzania, Tsavo National Park where you can see the red-dirt elephants, among so many others can be booked and included in your Kenya safari tour, or Tanzania safari tour package.

As you plan out your safari tour to the wilderness of Africa, elephants shall definitely be some of the animals to see while on your safari excursions. Below are 10 facts about elephants to know as you plan or head out to your much anticipated Tanzania safari tour, Kenya safari tour and beyond;

1. World’s largest land animal.

Elephants are the world’s largest land mammal. The Africa savanna in particular is the largest of all species, with adult males or bulls standing up to 3m high and weighing up to 6,000kgs on average. Calves are also huge, even at birth. A baby elephant can weigh up to 120kgs.

2. Two Species of Elephants

There are 3 species of elephants that is the African Savanna Bush Elephant, African Bush Elephant and the Asian Elephant. To differentiate the different species, it is the ears that would definitely help you to. The ears of the Africa bush elephants are much larger than the others and those of the Asian elephants are shaped like the Indian subcontinent.

3. Multi-tasking Trunks

There are about 150,000 muscle units in the trunk of an elephant. The trunks of elephants are the most sensitive organ, able to do so much including picking and shelling peanuts, drink water with a quantity of up to 8 litres storage, snorkel and so much more.

4. Elephant Tusks are Teeth

Did you know that the elephant tusks, which poachers find so valuable, are actually elephant tusks? Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth that appear when the elephants are about 2 years old, and continue growing throughout their lifespan. These tusks are used in feeding, prising bark off trees, as a defense while fighting, and so much more. These elephant tusks have however been a threat to the elephants themselves, as humans poach the elephants for their tusks made from ivory a very valuable object.

5. Have thick skin

Elephants also have a very thick skin of up to 2.5cm thick in most of their body parts. The folds and wrinkles of elephants are a good storage facility that they can store up to 10 times more water than the normal water. To protect their skins from sunburn, they take regular dust and mud baths.

6. Constantly Eating

Another of the 10 facts about elephants is that they are constantly eating, for almost all the days. Elephants are herbivores feeding on grass, shrubs, leaves roots and even fruits depending on the season of abundance. During the dry season, elephants eat more woody parts of the trees and shrubs, barks of trees and the like. Elephants eat up to 150kg of food every day.

7. Elephants Never Forget

Yes, elephants never forget. The temporal lobe of the elephants is much larger and denser than that of humans thus can store information forever.

8. Communicate Through Vibrations

Elephants too do communicate, and they do so in different ways including sounds like trumpet calls which can be so low to hear with human ears; body language, scent and touch.

9. Calves Can Stand Shortly After Birth

One of the 10 facts about elephants is that the calves can stand up straight 20 minutes into their birth, and can walk within 1 hour. Just after 2 days from birth, calves can easily keep up with the herd. With this, the herds can easily keep on in search for food even within a few days of female elephants’ delivering.

10. Social Animals

Another of the 10 facts about elephants is that elephants are very social animals, living in herds of up to 30 or more individuals. These herds include male and female elephants with their offspring, and can be seen doing almost everything together including feeding.

Elephants are one of the big 5 animals most sought after by travelers that can be found in most Tanzania safari parks including Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater Tanzania, Tarangire National Park and so many other safari destinations. Elephants can be seen while on game drives, guided walking safaris, canoeing trips and so much more depending on the activities there are in the safari destination visited. Get in touch with a reputable tour operator to help you pitch an amazing Tanzania safari tour or Kenya safari, and get to see these giant mammals in their natural habitat.