Traditionally, there are two types of elephants: Asian and African. Unfortunately, due to many reasons, such as poaching and habitat destruction, the population of these majestic animals is steadily declining

Elephants are the largest land animals living in Southeast Asia and Africa in tropical forests and savannahs. Traditionally, there are two types of elephants: Asian and African.Unfortunately, due to many reasons, such as poaching and habitat destruction, the population of these majestic animals is steadily declining.

Believe me, there is still a lot you don’t know about these beautiful, intelligent and peaceful mammals:

1. Female elephants can produce offspring for up to 50 years every 2-4 years. As a rule, twinsElephants are rarely born; more often, one elephant calf is born. Female elephants have the longest periodGestation period of all mammals is 22 months.

2. The largest elephant in the world weighed a record 12 thousand kilograms, and reached a height of as much as four meters.

3. Unlike most mammals, in which only one milk teeth are replaced by permanent onesOnce again, elephants are polyphyodonts, that is, they change teeth throughout their lives.

4. Along with people, monkeys, magpies and dolphins, elephants can recognize themselves in the mirror.

5. Elephants can receive seismic signals using sensory cells in their legs. These vibrationscaused by impacts on the ground, pass into the middle ear of the elephant through the bones of the forelimbs. Having caughta seismic alarm signal, the elephant becomes aware of the approach of a predator and takes a defensive stance.

6. Throughout the terrestrial world, elephants are considered the largest animals, but compared to whales theyThey look more like gnomes. For comparison, a blue whale's tongue weighs as much as one adult elephant.

7. Elephants can only move forward or backward and cannot gallop or jump. Elephant -the animal is so heavy that it is unable to lift all four limbs off the ground simultaneously.

8. Contrary to popular myth, elephants are not afraid of mice. However, they are afraid of ants and bees. INAs a result, farmers in some African countries use beehives to protect their fields from elephant raids.

9. Hyraxes are the closest relatives of modern elephants. These small, dense, herbivoresmammals are often mistaken for rodents.

10. Elephants, like people, are capable of very wide range emotions. They experience a sense of loss, grief,and are also capable of crying. Elephants remember and mourn their loved ones even many years aftertheir deaths. When a man named Lawrence Anthony, the author of Elephant Whispers, who saved the lives of many, diedanimals, a whole herd of elephants came to his house to say goodbye to their friend.

11. Elephants make several types of sounds, the most famous of which is a loud trumpet sound. So elephantsshow that they are worried, grieving or aggressive. Elephants can hear each otherdistance up to 10 kilometers.

12. People believe that elephants have excellent rumpiness. This statement is basedreal basis. The fact is that elephants form an image of a familiar spatial environment, socalled cognitive map. The presence of good memory in elephants is also indicated by their abilitytrack the whereabouts of your family group members.

13. An elephant's trunk has more than 40 thousand muscles. Despite the fact that the elephant trunk is very large (its weightis about 180 kilograms), the elephant handles it very deftly and can grab very smallthings like grains of rice.

14. The main reason for the mass killing of elephants by poachers is their tusks. Although scientists have long proventhat tusks consist of dentin, a substance similar to bone and not having any valuable properties.

15. Stories about elephants eating ripe fruits of the marula tree becoming drunk and rowdy arepure myths. Animals do not pick up overripe fruits that have fallen to the ground, in whichcontains the most alcohol. Even if an elephant takes a marula fruit, it will need to eat about 1400pieces to get drunk.

In ancient times, elephants were common large areas planets. But so far they have been able to survive only on the African continent and in some Asian countries. Animals are divided into two known species- African and Indian.

In turn, two subspecies live in Africa - the forest elephant and the savanna elephant. The main difference between the species is the shape of the ears: in the first they are round in shape, and in the second they look like triangles. The Indian elephant is the smallest of them, it has small tusks and ears, and in addition it has two protruding bumps on its forehead. In addition, they walk with their heads straighter than their savannah relatives; they lack a protruding upper lip. And female Indian elephants are distinguished from males by the absence of tusks, which sometimes have them more than a meter in length.

These animals, despite their enormous growth and great strength, for the most part, are quite peaceful and kind. In addition, elephants are very smart. They always attract the attention of people of all ages. But of course, interesting facts about elephants for children are especially interesting.

Uncle Jumbo is a giant

The most famous and large elephant name was Jumbo. He was born at the end of the nineteenth century, then he was sold to a French zoo. After which he spent some time in the UK Zoo. His popularity among the inhabitants of this country was truly enormous.

When they decided to send him to the United States, the Queen of England received 100 thousand letters from children asking not to separate them from the elephant. In America, an elephant died when he was just over 20 years old. The age is young for this animal, but the death occurred as a result of a tragic accident. Jumbo's height reached four meters.

African elephant, interesting facts for children

• An animal disturbed by something can run at a speed of up to 50 km/h, while its tail is raised - a kind of signal to the herd about danger.
• Elephants are excellent swimmers.
• himself heavy elephant of those duly registered, mined in Africa in 1974, it weighed 12.2 tons. More about the weight of elephants different types can be read in the article.

Oh, and the appetite!

The gluttony of an elephant is enviable; it eats an average of 3 centners of plant food per day. To get enough, he needs to search for food and spend almost a day eating - he only rests for 4 hours.

At the same time, he sleeps without lying on the ground, with the exception of the sick and young. It also requires a large amount of water, of course, the volumes here can vary greatly depending on what the humidity will be. However, on average this amount is 200 liters per day.

"Ears" on the top of the head

More interesting facts about African elephant are his big ears. So, in an adult animal they reach 2 meters in length and 4 in width. Such huge ears are not even a mistake or a mockery of nature. This is not even explained by the fact that they allow him to hear well.

They have another, no less important role - to help the elephant in hot weather. Having such colossal ears, the elephant uses them instead of a fan - he methodically waves them and thereby creates a chill for himself. Which is very important when he wanders under the merciless African sun.

Who's there in the mirror? I!!!

Elephants are considered one of the most intellectually developed creatures on the planet. Even in ancient times, he spoke of them as animals superior to all others in intelligence and wit.

In addition to his amazing abilities to have fun, grieve, be compassionate, and master the trainer’s commands, he is able to recognize himself in the mirror. This only shows that elephants have a sense of self-awareness.

Let's hug, brother, trunks

Elephants, like people, greet each other. But if a person’s hand is used for this action, then in the communication of these animals a very significant role of tactile contact is played by the trunk.

He helps them express their feelings. It is this organ, with which they wrap themselves around each other and stroke, that can say a lot about the intentions of the elephant’s mate or girlfriend.

Hold on to your tail, baby!

Elephants are not only kind animals. In addition to the fact that they are able to express their feelings with greetings, they are always ready to help their relatives, not to mention children. Researchers have repeatedly observed such a feature of the life of elephants as helping their loved ones.

Any elephant from the herd who sees a fallen elephant calf will definitely come to the rescue and do everything possible to get it up. It’s amazing and touching to watch little elephant calves clinging to the elephants’ tail with their trunks, as if human babies are holding on to their mother’s hand.

Jumping for joy

They also talk about their amazing ability to express various emotional experiences. It is natural for animals to feel sad when they notice that not everything is going smoothly in their community. They can be sincerely happy when a baby elephant is born; they literally jump for joy.

Elephants lead a herd lifestyle and suffer from separation anxiety. When an elephant loses her baby for some reason, she suffers for 20 years. Elephants worry if someone in the herd gets sick and dies. But this should be mentioned separately and a little later. Amazing phenomenon when animals smile, and they are capable of this too.

Talk to me, little elephant

The brain of elephants weighs more than five kilograms, it is more complex than that of other animals, not counting just whales. They have excellent memory and developed intelligence. Suffice it to say that they have a high ability to remember human speech and imitate it. An indicative example is the Kaushik, an Asian elephant.

Researchers note that it perfectly imitates human speech, and to be more precise, it pronounces several words. For example, approving ones are choah (good), annyong (hello), command ones are anja (sit), nuo (lie down), prohibitive ones are aniya (no). According to observers, for Kaushik these words are not mindless repetition, but a very clear awareness of what he is talking about.

Trunk artist

In its dexterity, an elephant's trunk resembles an octopus' tentacle. It consists of many hundreds of muscles. Having learned to control them, and it takes two years to train, an elephant is able to master any simple techniques movements that are inherent to the human hand.

Thanks to this, many animals were taught to draw and even open locks. The trunk can hold almost eight liters of water. To quench his thirst, the elephant draws water into it and then brings it to his mouth.

Another indian elephant engaged in wildlife research. This incredible event literally stunned everyone. In one of national parks India witnessed the friendship of an elephant with a lizard, which he caught and always carried with him.

Such relationships, when a powerful animal treats a smaller creature with reverence and tenderness, sometimes occur in life. This is well described, for example, in the story “The Lion and the Dog.” Photographer Jagdeep Rajput took many photographs about the friendship between an elephant and a lizard.

Funeral like people

Hardly anyone has ever been able to see elephant cemeteries. However, man and elephants and humans are currently the only living creatures on earth who pay tribute to those who die. Moreover, they take care of a sick relative and deliver food.

And when he gives up the ghost, the elephants try for some time to bring him back to life, bringing food and water. After which, when they realize that all their efforts are useless, they begin to dig a small grave and cover it with vegetation. Having sensitive hearts, they slightly raise their trunks and begin to trumpet. They can sit silently at the grave for a few more days.

There have been cases when these amazing animals tried to bury people in the same way, mistaking just a sleeping person for the dead.

Savannah centenarians

As a rule, the life expectancy of an elephant in natural conditions is shorter than in captivity, and can be up to 70 years. However, even among these animals there are long-livers. For example, one war elephant lived to be 85 years old Chinese army. And females are capable of giving birth even at fifty years old.

The story about these amazing animals has come to an end, where interesting facts about elephants were given for children, adults and simply nature lovers. In addition, elephant seals exist in nature. What kind of animals these are, you will find out in the next chapter.

Marine namesakes

They belong to pinnipeds and appearance have nothing in common with elephants that live on land. But they have a great resemblance to seals. They differ only in size: the elephant seal is larger, in addition, it has a trunk - a skin process in the nose area, reaching a length of 30 centimeters. It is for this trunk that they received their name.

Primary residence of elephant seals Southern Hemisphere land. Despite their attachment to the subantarctic zone, animals can also be seen in the Arctic. Colonies are often found on McDonald Islands, Crozet Islands, the Kerlegen Archipelago, as well as on the islands and peninsulas of West Antarctica.

Elephant seal: interesting facts

• This animal is the most big predator on the planet. The weight of a male can be equal to the weight of an Indian elephant - 5 tons, and its length - 5 meters. His diet mainly includes squid; he rarely prefers to treat himself to fish and krill.
• For only three weeks, elephant seals go to the beach rookery to find a mate for procreation. The remaining three hundred days are continuous sailing.

• While in the water, sea ​​predators Sometimes they dive to a depth of 2 km. And their trips are long - they cover 10,000 km of water space during their entire journey. Thanks to oxygenated blood, you can stay under water for two hours. And he has a lot of blood - a fifth of the animal’s mass. By the way, in humans this figure is three times less.
• cub sea ​​giant They are called a puppy, although they are more than a meter long and weigh half a centner. They feed on mother's milk, and the female stays near them inseparably, without even leaving to search for food. And so the month continues.

• There are approximately 800 thousand elephant seals around the world today, with a significant portion of them living in the area of ​​South Georgia Island.
• Unlike their terrestrial namesakes, elephant seals live much shorter - on average no more than 20 years, females even less - 10-15 years.

Both African and Indian elephants are listed in the Red Book. Elephant seals were on the verge of extinction until it was created in the middle of the twentieth century International convention, who took them under guard.

Elephants are one of the largest animals in the world's fauna. These incredibly intelligent animals have accompanied human civilization since ancient times as peaceful transport, draft power and military support. There are African and Asian elephants. There are approximately half a million of the former, ten times less of the latter. Here are some interesting facts about elephants.

The largest land mammals

Among land animals, elephants are rightfully considered the largest. The mass of an average individual is 5 tons, body length is seven meters. In Angola in 1956, an 11-ton elephant was killed by hunters. In 1974, an elephant with a mass of 12.4 tons was killed in Angola; it was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest. Mammoths had such dimensions, the usual individual of which was twice the size of a modern elephant.

Elephants are born weighing approximately 120 kilograms. The mother carries the baby for 22 months. An elephant's heart beats thirty times per minute and weighs up to 30 kilograms. The mass of an elephant's brain is approximately 5 kilograms.

Providing food for such a large body is not easy, so elephants spend about 20 hours a day searching and eating vegetation. The diet of giants is from 45 to 450 kg of plants, from 100 to 300 liters of liquid per day.

The lifespan of an elephant is 50-70 years. Among the long-livers endowed with a trunk is the Chinese war elephant Lin Wang. He rested in peace at the age of 86.

Intelligence

Aristotle also noted that elephants are superior to other animals in terms of intellectual abilities. Modern scientists confirm: elephants are so smart, have such a good memory that they can learn the language of people!

In Asia there lives an elephant whose name is Kaushik. He can imitate five words: example, sit, no, lie down and good. The animal understands the meaning of these commands or words of encouragement and can use them at its own discretion.

Scientists have been trying to unravel the elephant tongue for a very long time. In the end, it turned out that these animals communicate using infrasound. Christian Herbst from the University of Vienna, having conducted a study of the larynx of a deceased female elephant, concluded that animals use vocal cords.

The elephant language does not suffer from a lack of vocabulary. Christian Herbst noticed and studied approximately 470 signals that animals use with enviable regularity. Using these sounds, elephants communicate with members of their herd at a great distance, report dangerous situation or labor has begun. Interestingly, different individuals communicate using different signals; these signals depend on their place in the hierarchy.

Elephants are not only smart animals, but also sensitive ones. Elephants live up to 80 years. During this time they become very attached to each other. If an animal is sick, other members of the herd bring it food. If an elephant dies, they try to revive it for some time with food and water.

When someone in the herd goes to another world, the rest of the family makes loud mournful sounds, lifts the deceased high into the air, and a little later carries him to a natural depression found (or digs a hole), sprinkles it with earth and throws branches over it. The grieving family spends the next few days motionless near the body of their deceased brother. If the herd encounters a dead elephant that they are not familiar with, they may bury it too. There are cases where elephants buried dead people.

Organism

The trunk is the hypertrophied upper lip of elephants. With its help, animals can not only touch each other and objects, but also say hello, carry things, drink, wash themselves and even... draw. The trunk also helps the elephant take a shower: the “front tail” holds about 8 liters of liquid.

Elephants have an excellent sense of smell. And why all? Because there are more than forty thousand receptors in the trunk.

Tusks - another one distinguishing feature gray giants, which they actively use in everyday life. Bishops can be right-handed or left-handed. Depending on the “orientation,” their left or right (leading) tusk wears off and becomes smaller in size.

Over the past 150 years average length elephant tusks have almost halved. This trend is observed among both African and Indian elephants. This happened due to the mass extermination of animals by poachers. As a rule, the largest individuals became the victims of hunters. The length of the tusks is transmitted genetically, children were born into individuals that survived, that is, the parents had small and medium-sized tusks (poachers were less interested in it), respectively, the baby elephants later had small tusks.

Until recently, the tusks of dead elephants, which are very difficult to find, were the subject of legends about “ elephant cemeteries" Allegedly, animals go to die in specially designated areas. mysterious places. Not so long ago, scientists found out that porcupines are to blame for everything. They eat tusks to replenish mineral deficiencies.

Elephants also change teeth. More precisely, tusks. By the same principle that in human children, baby teeth fall out and permanent teeth grow.

The elephant is the largest land animal of the class mammals, such as chordates, of the order Proboscis, of the elephant family (lat. Elephantidae).

Elephant - description, characteristics and photos.

Elephants are giants among animals. The height of the elephant is 2 - 4 m. The weight of the elephant is from 3 to 7 tons. Elephants in Africa, especially savannah ones, often weigh up to 10 - 12 tons. The powerful body of the elephant is covered with thick (up to 2.5 cm) skin of brown or gray with deep wrinkles. Elephant calves are born with sparse bristles, while adults are practically devoid of vegetation.

The head of the animal is quite large with ears of remarkable size. Elephant ears have a fairly large surface area; they are thick at the base with thin edges; as a rule, they are a good regulator of heat exchange. Fanning the ears allows the animal to increase the cooling effect. An elephant's leg has 2 kneecaps. This structure makes the elephant the only mammal that cannot jump. In the center of the foot there is a pad of fat that springs with every step, which allows these powerful animals to move almost silently.

The elephant's trunk is an amazing and unique organ formed by a fused nose and upper lip. Tendons and more than 100 thousand muscles make it strong and flexible. The trunk performs a series important functions, while simultaneously providing the animal with breathing, smell, touch and grasping food. Through their trunks, elephants protect themselves, water themselves, eat, communicate, and even raise their offspring. Another “attribute” of appearance is the elephant’s tusks. They grow throughout life: the more powerful the tusks, the older their owner.

An elephant's tail is about the same length as its hind legs. The tip of the tail is framed by coarse hair, which helps repel insects. The elephant's voice is specific. The sounds that an adult animal makes are called grunts, moos, whispers and elephant roars. The lifespan of an elephant is approximately 70 years.

Elephants can swim very well and love water procedures, and their average speed movement on land reaches 3-6 km/h. When running short distances, the elephant's speed sometimes increases to 50 km/h.

Types of elephants.

In the family of living elephants, there are three main species, belonging to two genera:

Species often interbreed and produce quite viable offspring.

• Genus Indian(Asian) elephants (lat. Elephas) ​​includes one species - indian elephant(lat. Elephas maximus). It is smaller than the Savannah, but has a more powerful build and short legs. Color - from brown to dark gray. Distinctive feature This type of elephant has small quadrangular-shaped ears and one appendage at the end of the trunk. The Indian or Asian elephant is common in tropical and subtropical forests India, China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Indian elephant

Where and how do elephants live?

African elephants live almost throughout the entire territory of hot Africa: in Namibia and Senegal, in Kenya and Zimbabwe, in Guinea and the Republic of Congo, in Sudan and South Africa, elephants feel great in Zambia and Somalia. The bulk of the livestock, unfortunately, is forced to live in national reserves so as not to become the prey of barbarian poachers. The elephant lives on any landscape, but tries to avoid desert areas and too dense tropical forests, preferring the savannah zone.

Indian elephants live in the northeast and south of India, Thailand, China and the island of Sri Lanka, and live in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia. Unlike their counterparts from the African continent, Indian elephants like to settle in wooded areas, preferring tropical bamboo thickets and dense bushes.

For approximately 16 hours a day, elephants are busy absorbing food, and they eat about 300 kg of vegetation with appetite. The elephant eats grass (including cattails, papyrus in Africa), rhizomes, bark and leaves of trees (for example, ficus in India), wild fruits, marula and even. The elephant's diet depends on its habitat, as they grow in Africa and India. different trees and herbs. These animals do not bypass agricultural plantations, causing significant damage to crops, sweet potatoes and other crops with their visits. Their tusks and trunk help them get food, and their molars help them chew. An elephant's teeth change as they are worn down.

At the zoo, elephants are fed hay and greens (in large quantities), and also give the animals vegetables, fruits, root vegetables: cabbage, apples, beets, watermelons, boiled oats, bran, willow branches, bread, as well as elephants’ favorite delicacy, bananas and other crops. Per day in wildlife an elephant eats about 250-300 kg of food. In captivity, elephant food intake is as follows: about 10 kg of vegetables, 30 kg of hay and 10 kg of bread.

Adults are known “water-suckers.” An elephant drinks about 100-300 liters of water per day, so these animals are almost always located near bodies of water.

Reproduction of elephants.

Elephants form family herds (9-12 individuals), including a mature leader, her sisters, daughters and immature males. The female elephant is a hierarchical link in the family; she matures by the age of 12, and at the age of 16 she is ready to bear offspring. Sexually mature males leave the herd at the age of 15-20 years (African males at 25 years old) and become loners. Every year, males fall into an aggressive state caused by an increase in testosterone, which lasts about 2 months, so quite serious clashes between clans, ending in injuries and mutilations, are not uncommon. True, this fact has its own plus: competition with experienced brothers stops young male elephants from early mating.

Elephants reproduce regardless of the season. A male elephant approaches the herd when he feels the female is ready to mate. Loyal to each other in normal times, the males organize mating fights, as a result of which the winner is allowed to the female. An elephant's pregnancy lasts 20-22 months. The birth of an elephant takes place in a society created by the females of the herd, surrounding and protecting the woman in labor from random danger. Usually one baby elephant weighing about a hundredweight is born, sometimes there are twins. After just 2 hours, the newborn elephant stands on its feet and happily sucks its mother’s milk. After a few days, the cub easily travels with its relatives, grabbing its mother’s tail with its trunk. Feeding with milk lasts up to 1.5-2 years, and all lactating females participate in the process. By 6-7 months, plant foods are added to the milk.

1.Elephants are the closest relatives of the now extinct mammoths.

2. Today, there are three species of these unique animals: Indian elephant, African savanna and African forest. Previously there were 40 species.

3. The African elephant is recognized as the largest mammal that lives on Earth.

4.The most big elephant ever known was a male African elephant killed in Angola in 1974, weighing approximately 12,240 kilograms.

5. The average body weight of these animals is about 5 tons, and the body length is 6-7 meters.

6. Elephants are considered not only the largest mammals on Earth, but also one of the most sociable animals: an elephant cannot live alone, it needs communication with its relatives.

7. Elephants are amazing animals, which, as scientists have established, are characterized by self-awareness and experiences of various feelings and emotions, similar to human feelings. These animals are sad if something is wrong in their herd, and they are happy, for example, if a baby elephant is born. Elephants can even smile.

8.Elephants have an excellent memory. They recognize their relatives and brothers even after a very long separation. They are also vindictive and can take revenge for insults caused to them even after several decades. However, they remember their patrons just as well, and will never forget their kindness.

9. There are up to half a million African elephants in the world; Asian elephants are about 10 times smaller.

10. Over the past century and a half, the average length of elephant tusks in both Africa and India has halved. This is due to the fact that the largest representatives of the population become victims of poachers, and the length of the tusks is a genetically inherited trait.

11.Elephants are large and very intelligent animals; they have served man for peaceful and military purposes since ancient times.

12.Elephant herds are always headed by old and experienced females. A change of leader occurs only due to the death of the former main elephant. Moreover, only females live in herds, while males prefer to exist separately.

13. Scientists have dispelled the myth that elephants have their own separate cemetery by conducting a series of experiments. However, during these experiments it was found that elephants are indeed very respectful of the remains of their relatives: they easily recognize the bones of their fellow tribesmen in a pile of other bones, they will never step on the bones of a dead elephant, and will also try to push them aside so as not to other members of the herd came.

14. The trunk of the trunk can simultaneously hold up to eight liters of water. Also, the trunk has more than 40,000 receptors, so elephants have a very good sense of smell.

15. The most important difference between female Indian elephants and males is the absence of tusks. In some cases they are there, but remain invisible. The tusks of male Indian elephants reach one and a half meters in length.

16.Elephants are self-aware and recognize their reflection in the mirror, just like dolphins and some species of monkeys.

17. Average weight an elephant weighs 5 tons, however, they walk very quietly. You will hardly notice if an elephant calmly approaches you from behind. The thing is that the ball of the elephant's foot is designed in such a way that it is capable of springing and expanding, occupying everything more space as you move the place onto it: imagine that you glued a feather pillow to your sole - it’s about the same thing with elephants. That is why they walk through swamps with ease.

18. Almost all animals are capable of running, that is, moving in such a way when the whole body is completely in the air for a few fractions of a second. Elephants, due to their large mass, cannot lift their body into the air and run “halfway”: the front legs move at a trot, and the hind legs support the entire weight and are rearranged as if walking quickly. In this mode, the elephant can reach speeds of up to 40 km/h.

19.Elephants live in herds. Female elephants live in herds of 10-15 individuals. They raise their young together and take care of each other: they can bring water or food to an elephant that has been injured in some way and cannot move.

20. Elephant cubs live in a herd until they are 12-14 years old, after which they can either stay or separate and start their own family.

21. All adult elephants sleep standing up, huddled together and, if possible, leaning on each other. If the elephant is old and has very large tusks, then he places them on a tree or termite mound. 22. An elephant can leave its herd only if it dies or is caught by people.

23. Baby elephants can easily afford to fall on their side, which they successfully do, but for some reason this habit goes away with age.

24. Elephants change teeth about 6 times throughout their lives. The last teeth grow at the age of 40.

25. The average lifespan of an elephant is 60 to 70 years. At the same time, long-livers are known among animals living in captivity. Most old elephant named Lin Wang lived 86 years (1917-2003). This elephant served in the Chinese army and fought during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), then in the construction of monuments, performed in the circus, but lived most of its life in the Taipei Zoo in Taiwan. Lin Wang was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the elephant that survived the longest in captivity.

26.Elephants swim well. Having put their trunk out of the water, they are even capable of diving to depths. The speed at which an elephant swims is 2-6 km/h.

27.Elephants usually communicate using infrasound, so for a long time the elephant's tongue remained unsolved.

28. Research by Christian Herbst from the University of Vienna on the larynx of a dead elephant showed that elephants use vocal cords to communicate. " Vocabulary“Elephant language turned out to be quite rich - Herbst recorded about 470 different stable signals that elephants use. They can use them to communicate with each other over long distances, warn of danger, report births, and use various addresses to members of the herd, depending on their position in the hierarchy.

29. Elephants’ teeth change 6-7 times during their lives, as they quickly wear down due to their developed appetite. Very old elephants are usually females, since the elephant who has lost her last teeth is helped by the herd to feed, but old, lonely males usually die of hunger.

30. To communicate with each other, elephants use many sounds, trunk gestures and postures. At long distances, infrasounds are used. Thanks to this ability, elephants can hear each other at a distance of 10 km.

31.Elephants do not sweat: they do not have sebaceous glands. In order not to “cook” in the heat, elephants use mud baths or ears.

32. Elephants’ ears are penetrated by a network of blood vessels, which, in extreme heat, expand and give off heat very abundantly to the environment. During cold periods they narrow.

33. The average amount of food an elephant eats per day is 300 kilograms. As for the amount of water you drink, it varies. Depending on air humidity, an elephant can drink from 100 to 300 liters per day.

34.Elephants are excellent dodgers. He does everything the elephant needs with his trunk: eats, picks leaves, picks up objects, waters himself. Elephants have been known to draw or open padlocks with a key.

35.A female elephant can only conceive a baby for a few days a year.

36.Pregnancy in elephants lasts longer than in any other living creatures on Earth - 22 months. A newborn elephant weighs 100-120 kilograms.

37. Just like people, elephants are born toothless. Then they grow milk tusks, which are later replaced by molar tusks. Elephants' teeth wear down very quickly; when the teeth are worn down, they fall out and new ones grow in their place.

38. An elephant’s trunk is actually an extension of it upper lip. With the help of their trunk, elephants make tactile contact, say hello, can take objects, draw, drink and wash themselves.

39. When meeting, elephants greet each other with a special ritual: they wrap their trunks around each other.

40.Elephants also turned out to be capable of learning human language. An elephant named Kaushik, living in Asia, has learned to imitate human speech, or rather, five words: annyong (hello), anja (sit), aniya (no), nuo (lie down) and choah (good). Kaushik does not just mindlessly repeat them, but, according to observers, understands their meaning, since these are either commands that he carries out, or words of encouragement and disapproval.

41. Male elephants prefer solitude, but close to any herd.

42. Elephants, like people, can be left-handed or right-handed. Depending on which tusk the elephant works more, one of them becomes smaller. Most elephants are right-handed.

44. The African elephant has 26 tail vertebrae, which is much less than asian elephant, which has 33 of them.

45. When hunger sets in in a herd of elephants, all the animals disperse and feed separately.

46.Elephants are very smart. The elephant's brain weighs about 5 kilograms and is more complex than that of other mammals. In terms of the complexity of their brain structure, elephants are second only to whales. It has been proven that elephants experience feelings of joy, grief, compassion, are capable of cooperation and are easy to train.

47. Elephants are very friendly animals. In addition to greeting them when they meet, they help little elephants. Just as a human child holds on to its mother’s hand, so a baby elephant holds on to a female elephant with its trunk. If an elephant from the herd sees a baby elephant slipping, he will immediately help him.

49.Elephants are susceptible to blood diseases, arthritis and tuberculosis.

50. Elephants are not the only ones high level intelligence, but also sensitive hearts. When someone from an elephant family dies, his relatives lift him up with their trunks, trumpet loudly, and then roll him to a hole and cover him with branches and throw earth at him. Then the elephants sit silently next to the body for several more days. There are also cases where elephants also try to bury people, sometimes mistaking sleeping people for dead.