What makes elephants unique in the wild

What makes elephants unique in the wild? Elephants are highly intelligent animals with complex emotions, feelings, compassion and self-awareness.

Elephants are the largest land mammals. Despite their size, they can run up to 25 miles per hour, since one of their feet is always on the ground.  They communicate through trumpet sounds, snorts, roars, cries and purring, elephants pick up sounds of rumbles with their feet and they can hear communications over long distances though the vibrations that come up through their feet and into their ears.

Elephants have deep family bonds. The herd is led by the matriarch, the female head of a family. Calves are raised by the entire herd. When males are about 12 years old, they leave the herd to live on their own while the females stay with family herd. Females will often stay with their mothers their whole lives so elephants often become great-grandmothers.

Amazing facts about elephants

#Elephants are afraid of bees. Let that sink in for a second. The largest animal on land is so terrified of a tiny insect that it will flap its ears, stir up dust and make noises when it hears the buzz of a beehive.

#Elephants have the largest brain amongst all animals of the wild. For that matter they tend to recall things even that lasted 2 years ago. They can remember there paths to food sources, water sources and even in case of emergencies, they know where to run to for help. This is because the matriarchs pass on there knowledge to the young ones.

#Elephants exhibit a deep understanding of human communication. There language skills go beyond understanding. When the elephants hear the voices of the group the fear, the are more likely to act defensively by grouping tightly together and smelling the air to investigate.

#Elephants have enough buoyancy to stay at the surface and use their powerful legs to paddle. They also use their trunk as a snorkel when crossing deep water so they are able to breathe normally even when submerged. Swimming is a necessary skill for elephants as they cross rivers and lakes when searching for food. Hence they are very good at swimming.

#Elephants are highly social and intelligent creatures, and they demonstrate behaviors we humans recognize as compassion, kindness, and altruism.

#Elephants are sensitive souls, with strong bonds to their family members, a need for comfort, and a long memory. So it should come as no surprise that elephants who experience tragedy, like witnessing a family member being killed by poachers, have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

What makes elephants unique in the wild

$Elephant’s trunk is powerful and extremely sensitive. Elephants use their prehensile trunks to smell, eat, breathe underwater, make sounds, clean themselves, and defend themselves. Elephants have “fingers” at the tips of their trunks. African elephants have two and Asian elephants have one, that allow them to pick up tiny objects. Extremely dexterous, elephants can form a joint with their trunk to pile up small materials like grains.

$There’s a good reason that elephants like to play in the dirt. Although their hide looks tough, elephants have sensitive skin that can get sunburned. To counteract the damaging rays of the sun, elephants throw sand on themselves. Adult elephants will also douse youngsters with dust. When coming out of a bath in a river, elephants will often throw mud or clay on themselves as a layer of protection

$They have social behaviors and they bond easily. They cuddle and touch one another, and entwine their trunks. These are ultimate sign of of love among the elephants. Their relationships possibly last for a lifetime.

$Elephants are the largest land mammals in the world, so it’s perhaps not surprising that they have the longest pregnancy of any living mammal. African elephants are pregnant for an average of 22 months.

The scientists believe that the long gestation period allows for full brain development of elephants, which are born with complex cognitive skills and are immediately able to sense how to survive in their environment and interact with the herd.

This is the time to acknowledge the beauty of these large mammals, and also find out why it is apart of the big 5. Of cos these amazing facts can only be witnessed once you make a choice to hit the road for travel.

Inspire African Safaris, the most recommended travel agent in Uganda, will definitely be the lead to your amazing dream safari.