I had an interest in elephants sparked by a conversation today about mahouts — elephant handlers in India. An acquaintance who has traveled far and wide was describing the relationship between elephant and handler, a life-long bond that sounds a lot like a marriage or other partnership. I’ll definitely be writing about mahouts in the near future!
But for now, I wanted to share some interesting ele-facts about Asian elephants.
- The elephant is one of a few animals that use tools. Elephants use sticks to scratch themselves and can learn to use a variety of objects for a variety of activities. (Other animals that use tools include otters who break open clams with rocks and monkeys who use sticks or grasses to draw ants out of their hills.)
- You can get the approximate height of an elephant from the measure of one foot. Measure the circumference of a front foot and double it — that gives you the approximate height.
- You can get the approximate age of an elephant from the fold on the upper ridge of the ear. Around the age of ten, the upper ridge begins to fold inward at a rate of about one inch every ten years. So an elephant with a one inch fold on the upper ridge of the ear is probably around thirty or thirty-five.
- Raccoons aren’t the only animals that clean their food before eating. Elephants will often beat food against their legs to get rid of dust and dirt.
- Elephants love spending time in the water.
- Elephants travel a lot in search of food and water. They eat and drink a lot, and moving around helps prevent them from completely depleting (or destroying) an area. Between sixty and seventy percent of the day (or more) is spent foraging and eating.
- Thirsty? Elephants drink more than fifty gallons (190 liters) of water per day. Their trunks can hold between 1.5 and 2.5 gallons (6-10 liters) of water at a time.