ElephantHost.com - About Elephants

Quick Physical Statistics

• Elephants typically reach puberty at thirteen or fourteen years of age
• They have offspring up until they are around fifty years old
• They may live seventy years or possibly more
• A cow produces a single calf and in very rare cases twins
• The interval between births is between two and a half to four years
• An elephant´s trunk, a union of the nose and upper lip, is a highly sensitive organ with over 100,000 muscle units.

Interesting Facts

• Elephant trunks can get very heavy. It is not uncommon to see elephants resting them over a tusk!
• Elephants cry, play, have incredible memories, and laugh!
• Elephants are sensitive fellow animals where if a baby complains, the entire family will rumble and go over to touch and caress it.
• Elephants have greeting ceremonies when a friend that has been away for some time returns to the group.
• Elephants grieve at a loss of a stillborn baby, a family member, and in many cases other elephants.
• Elephants don't drink with their trunks, but use them as "tools" to drink with. This is accomplished by filling the trunk with water and then using it as a hose to pour it into the elephant's mouth.
• Interestingly, the Asian elephant is more closely related to the extinct mammoth than to the African elephant.

The Ecological Impact of the Elephant is Priceless!

• Elephants provide a vital role in the ecosystem they inhabit.
• They modify their habitat by converting savannah and woodlands to grasslands
• Elephants can provide water for other species by digging water holes in dry riverbeds
• the depressions created by their footprints and their bodies trap rainfall
• Elephants act as seed dispersers by their fecal matter. It is often carried below ground by dung beetles and termites causing the soil to become more aerated and further distributing the nutrients
• Their paths act as firebreaks and rain water conduits
• An Elephants journey through the high grass provides food for birds by disturbing small reptiles, amphibians or insects.