Tag: Elephant behaviors

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Elephant behaviors

Do Elephants Have Graveyards? The Myth of the Elephant Graveyard

Elephants in the savanna at dusk
(Photo by Carlos Torres on Unsplash)

It’s one of the most haunting legends in the animal world: somewhere out in the bush lies a secret elephant graveyard, a place ancient elephants travel to when they sense the end is near. It’s been retold in Tarzan stories and brought to life in Disney’s The Lion King. But is any of it true? The short answer is no — and the real story is even more interesting.

The short answer: no — elephant graveyards are a myth. There is no evidence elephants travel to a secret place to die. The legend grew from real clusters of elephant bones, which have a simpler explanation.

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Questions & Answers (FAQs)

What Is a Group of Elephants Called? (Plus Baby, Male & Female Names)

A herd of elephants on grassland
(Photo by ray rui on Unsplash)

Elephants have their own set of names — for the group, the babies and the sexes — and they’re some of the most-asked questions about the species. The quick version: a group of elephants is a herd, a baby is a calf, a female is a cow and a male is a bull. Here’s the full breakdown, including a few collective nouns you might not know.

The short answer: a group of elephants is a herd; a baby is a calf; a female is a cow; a male is a bull.

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Elephant behaviors

What Sound Does an Elephant Make? Elephant Sounds Explained

Elephant on grassland making a call
(Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash)

Ask anyone what sound an elephant makes and they’ll say the same thing: that loud, brassy trumpet. But the trumpet is just the headline. Elephants are among the most vocal animals on the planet, with a whole vocabulary of rumbles, roars, barks and snorts — and a secret channel of infrasound, too low for human ears, that lets them “talk” across miles of savanna. Here’s every sound an elephant makes and what each one means.

The short answer: the signature elephant sound is the trumpet — a loud blast made through the trunk to signal excitement, alarm or aggression. But most elephant communication is actually a deep rumble, much of it infrasound below the range of human hearing, that can travel several kilometres.

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Elephant behaviors

Do Elephants Really Never Forget? The Truth About Elephant Memory

A herd of elephants crossing grassland
(Photo by Harshil Gudka on Unsplash)

“An elephant never forgets.” It’s one of the most famous sayings about any animal — and unlike the myth that elephants are afraid of mice, this one is largely true. Elephants have some of the best long-term memories in the animal kingdom, and that memory is no party trick: it can mean the difference between life and death for the whole herd.

The short answer: yes — elephants have exceptional long-term memory. Matriarchs remember water sources, migration routes and individual elephants for decades, and that recall has been shown to help herds survive droughts.

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