by guest author Mila Martinov
Elephants are interesting animals. I chose to write about them, because I find them truly magnificent. Check out these really cool facts about some of the most amazing creatures in the world, in my opinion.
African Elephants live in savannas and jungles, while Asian Elephants live in tropical forests and nice grasslands. They enjoy those places, because there is lots of food to eat and plenty of water to drink. I bet they love their habitat!
African Elephant (left). Asian Elephant (right). Courtesy of Elephants by James Maclaine and John Francis
All elephants have very large ears. They use their ears to cool themselves down by flapping their ears to fan their faces. Unfortunately, none of them have ears big enough to fly like Dumbo.
Elephants use their tusks by digging in the dirt to find underground water. They also use them to defend themselves against foes. Their tusks and ears are very useful!
They use their trunks as tools. To drink water, they suck some water inside the trunk and then squirt it into their mouth so they can drink. Of course, elephants are too big to kneel down and drink the water like cats, dogs and most other animals. Plus, why would they have their trunks anyway? Elephants also use their trunks as hands so that they can pick up their dinner.
Elephants live in big, huge herds made up of their families and friends. Here are the facts of how the females take care of the herd: the oldest female guides the herd to find water and leads everyone through rivers and marshes. She also keeps watch while the herd is resting in the shade. Being a leader is hard work!
Courtesy of Elephants by James Maclaine and John Francis
Elephants often sleep when they are standing. To be comfortable, they lean and rest on trees. Other times, they like to lie down and rest their heads on bushes. Elephants sometimes snore while they are sleeping.
They are very, very big. In fact, they are the biggest land animals in the world! They can weigh the same amount as 60 people. Elephants like to eat a bunch of different things, including: grass and roots in the savanna, fruits in the jungle, and leaves in both. To get all of these foods, elephants bang their heads on trees for fruit to fall down. My theory is that elephants use their trunks to pull tasty roots out of the ground. They do the same thing with grass. They pull it out with their trunks. Elephants just use their mouths to eat leaves from bushes.
Here is a question: How can you tell if they are a boy or a girl? Luckily, I have an answer. Look at the forehead of an elephant. A girl has a forehead that is angled. A boy has a round forehead.
Here is another question: How can you tell the difference between an Asian Elephant and an African Elephant? African Elephants have much larger ears that kind of look like the continent of Africa, and Asian Elephants have smaller and rounder ears. Also, African Elephants live in Africa, while Asian Elephants live in Asia.
Last question: When did the first elephants appear? The first elephant appeared over 50 million years ago.
They really like to eat grass and bamboo. So if you want to see elephants, bamboo forests and savannas are the place for you!
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