Category: Anatomy

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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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Anatomy Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Elephants have Tusks: Everything you need to know

Male elephants with tusks fighting

Elephants are awe-inspiring animals, and their tusks instantly come to mind when you think of them. These majestic ivory structures often grace pictures featuring this incredible creature and provide a unique charm that furthers its dignified look.

But what is the purpose of these tusks? How long can they grow? And do all elephants have them?

Uncover the mysteries of elephant tusks by diving into this article! Here you’ll learn their purpose, size, growth tendencies, and even investigate the contentious issue behind ivory trading.

So, if you’re curious about these fascinating appendages and the animals that wield them, keep reading to discover more!

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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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Anatomy Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

How Big Are Elephants Compared To Mammoths?

Steppe Mammoth at the Australian Museum. Photo by April Pethybridge.
Steppe Mammoth at the Australian Museum. Photo by April Pethybridge.

The Proboscidea is the superorder that includes elephants and mammoths, the Elephantidae. There are three families in this order: African Elephants, Asian Elephants, and Mammoths.

Only the elephant family is still around today. So, how big were mammoths compared to elephants?

The woolly mammoth was not as large as people originally thought. In fact, they were only the size of modern African elephants. A male’s shoulder height would range from 9 to 11 feet, weighing approximately 6 tons.

Though many people incorrectly believe otherwise, elephants and mammoths are not closely related–they are distant cousins. Both animals coexisted peacefully with humans for a very long time.

Although male elephants will have the occasional violent outburst over things such as territory and mating rights, they are usually gentle animals.

In this article, we’ll compare and contrast elephants with mammoths – looking at why the former have persisted while the latter have perished.

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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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Anatomy Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Top 10 Elephant Facts for Kids (for a kids school project)

Large herd of Elephants
A large herd of Elephants, making their way across the Amboseli plans to the evening resting area.

If you’re a parent of a young kid who has expressed an interest in elephants or for a school project, this article will come in handy.

We’ve put together a list of 10 interesting and fun elephant facts for kids, as well as sources of further information, more reading, and references!

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Anatomy Questions & Answers (FAQs)

How Many Stomachs Does An Elephant Have?

Old Elephant eating through vegetation

Elephants being as big as they are, some will think they must have more than one stomach. But they don’t!

The elephant’s original stomach is instead subdivided into four different compartments: the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. Each of which plays a crucial role in the digestion of the elephant’s plant-based diet.

Elephants are big animals with large appetites to match. They take up a lot of space, and they require a lot of food to keep going.

In this article, we will explore the anatomy of the “inner-elephant” go through it’s complex digestive system.

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Anatomy Elephant behaviors Questions & Answers (FAQs)

How Do Elephants Breathe?

Elephant roaming a National Park in Uganda.

When you think of elephants, the first thing that probably comes to mind is their gigantic size. They’re definitely big creatures. In fact, they’re the largest terrestrial mammal on Earth and they can be found in Africa (the African elephants) and in Asia (the Asian elephants). Read more about the difference between the elephant species.

An adult male elephant usually measures around 10 feet in height and can weigh up to 11 tons.

And while it’s obvious that these massive creatures have a large lung capacity and take frequent breaths of air, how do elephants breathe?

An elephant’s lungs are unusually small for its body size compared to other animals its sizes like humans, hippopotamuses, or moose.

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Anatomy Questions & Answers (FAQs)

How Many Bones Does An Elephant Have?

Indian Elephant skeleton in Manchester

An elephant is a mammal noted for its memory and its size. As the old saying goes, “an elephant never forgets”, which is probably why they are also known as the wise old beasts.

An adult elephant can weigh between 7,000 and 15,000 pounds (3,000 kgs-6,800 kgs, the females weigh less), making it one of the largest land animals on Earth.

It has been estimated that there may be over 500,000 elephants left in the world (primarily in national parks). Because of their size, many people think they have lots of bones. But exactly how many bones does an elephant have?

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Anatomy Elephants in the wild

How Fast Can An Elephant Run?

Asian Elephant running through water

An elephant is an enormous animal with a large brain that can be found in sub saharan Africa, the indian subcontinent or other forest environments. They’re also pretty slow-moving in general.

Despite their massive anatomy, elephants are capable of surprising bursts of speed when necessary.

We all know that elephants are big and lumbering animals. But what you may not know is how fast an elephant can run when it needs to or what kind of speed can an elephant reach. After all, their safety is at risk when there are predators around trying to make a meal out of them.

In order to escape from potential threats, elephants should be able to read the situation quickly and respond just as fast by running away at high speeds.

Let’s take a look at how fast can an elephant run and what is their natural walking speed.

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