Author: Ethan Smith

Ethan aka "The Elephant Man" is a huge fan of elephants. He lives in the US with his wife and three kids. Together they travel to Africa every year to go on safari and see the big 5.

Ethan worked many years covering the news about the endangered animal species of Africa and is even mentioned in the now world renowned documentary "Planet Earth".

Ethan is passionate about conservation and loves educating others about these amazing animals.

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Elephant behaviors

How Does an Elephant Scratch an Itch?

An Elephant scratching its stomach against a car. Photo credit: earthtouchnews.com.
An Elephant scratching its stomach against a car. Photo credit: earthtouchnews.com.

Elephants, known for their size and strength, also face the challenge of itching and the need for relief. Understanding how elephants alleviate their itchiness is a fascinating subject worth exploring.

Elephants possess a range of physical tools that aid in relieving their itchiness. Elephants may use various methods such as rubbing against trees, rocks, or other rough surfaces to alleviate itching.

Their trunks, with their remarkable dexterity, could also be instrumental in reaching and scratching those hard-to-reach areas.

Additional insight can be gained by observing the social behavior of elephants. It is possible that elephants engage in mutual grooming, where one elephant may use its trunk or tusks to gently scratch another elephant’s itchy spots.

This bonding and supportive behavior within the herd could serve as another effective way to alleviate itching while strengthening social connections among elephants.

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Elephant safari Visit elephants

Best Places To See Elephants In Tanzania

Three elephants walking the sunset in Tanzania.
Three elephants walking the sunset Mikumi National Park in Tanzania. Photo by Andrii Ryzhkov.

Tanzania hosts remarkable elephant populations, offering travelers unforgettable experiences to observe these incredible animals in their natural surroundings. In this guide, we’ll uncover top destinations for witnessing elephants, including famous parks and lesser-known gems.

Tarangire National Park is a prime location for elephant sightings. With its dense wildlife population and striking landscape featuring ancient baobab trees, the park provides a beautiful setting for observing elephants.

During the dry season, large herds gather near the Tarangire River, allowing close-up encounters.

Ruaha National Park is another must-visit destination for elephant enthusiasts. As Tanzania’s largest national park, Ruaha’s diverse ecosystem supports a significant number of elephants.

The picturesque Great Ruaha River attracts these animals, presenting an ideal spot to watch them as they drink, eat, and socialize.

Besides these well-known parks, Tanzania has numerous other locations to appreciate elephants.

Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area are perfect examples, where you can see elephants roaming vast plains alongside iconic African wildlife.

For a unique experience, consider visiting the Selous Game Reserve. This off-the-beaten-path destination offers intimate and exclusive encounters with elephants, away from the crowds.

Dive deeper into our guide to discover detailed information on each location, as well as tips and advice to enhance your elephant-viewing experience.

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Elephant behaviors Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Why Do Elephants Destroy Trees?

An Asian Elephant in Thailand destroying trees and bush.
An Asian Elephant in Thailand destroying trees and bush. Photo by xandro Vandewalle.

Have you ever been so frustrated with something that you just wanted to take it out on the nearest tree?

Elephants seem to have the same problem – except they’re much bigger and stronger meaning that when they do push over trees – they actually fall.

From agricultural fields to forests and even urban areas, elephants are known for their destructive tendencies regarding trees. Why is it that elephants destroy trees?

With an uncanny ability to find the most nourishing parts of trees, elephants have developed a habit of breaking tree trunks for easy access.

This gives them quick and effortless access to leaves, roots, and all essential nutrients available within the plant.

In this article, we’ll look at some environmental and anthropogenic factors contributing to elephant-tree destruction and discuss potential solutions.

We’ll also debunk some myths surrounding this issue to understand better what’s happening here.

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Anatomy Elephant behaviors Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Facts about Baby Elephants: Why are we so fascinated with the calves?

Baby Elephant trumpeting

It’s a question that has puzzled scientists, zookeepers and animal lovers alike: Why is it that humans are so fascinated by the calves of elephants?

The answer may lie in our own biology. Elephants are mammals like us. And we’re drawn to live things, especially animals with babies.

It’s true for other species too; just think about how many people stop their cars on the roads when they see deer fawns cross the street or baby seals playing on a beach.

Baby elephants are playful and cute, and they make a lot of noise. They also tend to stay close to their mothers.

One mind-blowing fact about baby elephants is that almost all of them are born at night, most likely because it’s harder for predators to find them.

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Different species Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

What are the Differences Between African Elephant and Asian Elephants?

What are the Differences Between African Elephant and Asian Elephants?
An Asian Elephant and African Elephant strolling down a forest. Image source: ElephantGuide.com

The Asian and African elephants are both types of the same elephant species. Yet, they belong to different genera because there are so many variances between the two types of Elephants.

Africa and Asia are home to their respective species of elephants, known as Asian and African elephants.

Both types of animals are friendly and congregate in huge groups called herds.

African and Asian elephants are easiest to tell apart by their ears, the shape of their heads, and their tusks.

Ethan of ElephantGuide.com

The simplest way to tell African and Asian elephants apart is by their ears. African elephants have enormous ears that are shaped like the continent of Africa. On the other hand, Asian elephants have much smaller, round ears.

There are two living species within this genus: the larger African savanna elephant, known scientifically as L. Africana, and the smaller African forest elephant, known scientifically as L. cyclotis.

The only living species of the genus Elephas, the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), is also known as the Asiatic elephant.

The three subspecies of the Asian elephant are E. m. indicus, which lives in mainland Asia; E. m. Maximus, which is from Sri Lanka; and finally, E. m. sumatranus native to Sumatra Island.

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Anatomy Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

How Much Can An Elephant Lift?

Indian Elephant in water lifting tree
Strong Indian elephant lifting a heavy log out from a river

An elephant is the largest land animal on Earth. These colossal creatures can weigh up to 6 tons and stand as tall as 5 meters (16 feet) when fully grown depending on the type of elephant.

An adult elephant’s strength and weight are impressive, but how much can an elephant lift? They have been known to uproot trees, break fences, and even break steel chains with their trunk or tusks.

The trunk’s muscle and strength make elephants capable of lifting up to 660-700 pounds (270-320 kg) with their trunk.

To find out how much weight an elephant can lift, we’ll explore their anatomy, their strength and weight in comparison to humans, and some examples of how much they can lift in real life.

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Elephant behaviors Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Are Elephants Loyal?

A big Elephant herd at a water hole in Africa.
A big Elephant herd at a water hole in Africa. Elephants are extremely loyal to their herd and their Matriarch. Photo by Glen Carrie.

It’s no secret that elephants are one of the most loyal animals on the planet. They are known for their strong family ties and steadfast loyalty to friends, allies, and to their herd.

But what does this mean for elephant behavior? Are they always loyal? How do they show their loyalty?

Let’s take a closer look at elephant loyalty and what it means for these animals in the wild!

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Anatomy Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Elephants Can’t Jump: Here are main the reasons why

Elephants can run, but they can't jump

Often in cartoons when we were kids, we saw elephants jumping when they were startled or scared. More than often, it also included mice or spiders scaring them (remember Badou from Babar?).

Since it involved a mice, it’s quite hard to say that this happened in their natural habitat, a clue to the myth!

Sorry to break it to you – it’s a myth. Elephants can’t jump. And there really isn’t any difference between adult elephants or baby elephants. Neither can jump.

The reason why elephants can’t jump has a lot to do with their anatomy. For starters, elephants are really, really heavy. African elephants weigh in at around an average of 13,000 pounds (5,800 kilograms). That’s about the same as 10 mid-size cars.

But it’s not just their weight that makes jumping difficult – it’s also their legs and their history.

Let us walk you through the key reasons why an elephant can’t jump.

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Different species Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

The three species of Elephant

3 species of Elephants

Only two species of elephants have been recognized until quite recently: the African and Asian elephants. However, conclusions from several research studies revealed that there are actually three species of elephants roaming the earth:

  1. African bush elephant (also known as the African savanna elephant)
  2. African forest elephant
  3. Asian elephant
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Elephant safari Visit elephants

Best places to see Elephants in Vietnam

Coffee on top of mountain in Nui Chua, Vietnam
Having a coffee up top in Nui Chua after visiting Elephants in the national park. Photo by Chang Duong.

Are there wild elephants in Vietnam with all the lush vegetation and well-protected national parks? Is it possible to see elephants in Vietnam? The answer is yes, but the population of elephants is small.

Although, it is one of the best places in Asia to have a first-hand ethical elephant experience.

The best destination in Vietnam to see an Elephant is in the Yok Don National Park. The park is home to around 60 elephants that live in the wild. You can take a tour of the park and see them roaming around in their natural habitat.

Read on for two other great national parks where you can see Elephants in Vietnam!

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