The largest land animals in the world are, as everyone knows, elephants.Their most common habitats are found in sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia.They are intelligent, peaceful and very beautiful animals. 30 Curiosities about elephants , extraordinary creatures at the same time fascinating.
There are three species of elephants, the African savanna, the African forest and the Asian, but unfortunately the three are in danger due to poaching and the destruction of their habitat.The population of elephants is declining dramatically throughout the world and several international groups are carrying out campaigns to protect them.African elephants, for example, have been Qualified as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Asians are on the list of endangered animals.
30 Curiosities about elephants
1.Elephants they are proboscideos which is an order of placental mammals that currently has only one living family called "Elephantidae." This unique family has three species: African savanna elephants, forest Africans and Asians.
2.Until a few years ago it was said that they belonged to the order of the pachyderms, but at present this classification that included mammals with thick skin, little hair and large size, is not used.
3.When they are born, the elephants weigh about 120 kg.and despite their great size they stand up a few hours later.
4.Gestation lasts 22 months! It is the longest pregnancy among terrestrial animals.
5.Elephants may have young until almost 50 years old.Twin pregnancies are very rare and tend to space the birth of their offspring between 2 and 4 years.
6.They usually live between fifty and sixty years although there are known specimens that have passed from the Eighty.
7.Among the curiosities about elephants is the one that holds the record of weight and height: in 1956 a specimen weighing about 11,000 kg was hunted in Angola and its height to the cross was almost 4 meters.
8.The smallest known elephant corresponds to a prehistoric species that lived in Crete during the Pleistocene.It weighed half the same as a large pig, approximately.
9.The elephant's brain is the largest of the land animals and weighs about 5 kg.
10.One of the curiosities about elephants is the can Tity of intelligent behaviors attributed to it as a species, among which altruism, memory, compassion, grief or self-recognition stand out.
11.Elephants like water very much, both for play like swimming or snorkeling.They find relief for their heavy joints.
12.One of the curiosities about elephants is his trunk.This is the fusion of the nose and upper lip and besides smelling and breathing has many other functions such as catching things, emitting sounds, distinguishing shapes and textures or vacuuming water.
13.The sound emitted by an elephant has a name like many of the voices of animals.»And can be heard more than 9 km away.
14.Inside the tube is the nasal canal that is the best olfactory organ in the world.When an elephant lifts the tube it does so perceive distant smells.
15.Despite the prohibitions, poachers continue to kill elephants to provide themselves with the ivory of their fangs, much appreciated in the Chinese market and for which large sums of money are paid.
16.Decades ago there was a very tragic case that we told you in Science Daily Online: The man who killed 40,000 elephants by mistake.erroneously, thus avoiding desertification.
17.Another of the curiosities about elephants worth mentioning is their skin.Despite being very thick, the skin of elephants is so sensitive that they can notice how a fly perches on it.
18.Due to this quality the" touch "is a very important way of communicating for them.They greet each other with caresses or curling their tubes and the older adults give "Slapping," pushing or kicking young people to discipline them.
19.Elephants have often been used as a labor force or for transport and in ancient times also in wars.
20.Anibal, the Carthaginian general, crossed the Alps to attack Rome with an army of 37 war elephants.All died in the adventure except one, apparently called Sirius or Surus, who is the one riding Anibal himself.
21.Elephant crushing was a fairly common method of execution in South and Southeast Asia for death row inmates.
22.As we said, elephants are able to feel the pain of absence for a death for many years.This is one of the curiosities about elephants that has been most to commented and is clear in the case of Lawrence Anthony, a famous "whisper of elephants" whose death a herd of these animals that he had rescued, went to the door of his house to mourn.
23.It is a myth the fear that elephants feel for mice.However, if they feel fear of bees so that some farmers in Africa surround their fields of beehives so that crops are not crushed by herds of elephants.
24.An elephant has the ability to move forward and backward, but due to its weight it cannot lift all four legs of the ground at the same time so that it is impossible for him to jump or gallop.
25.One of the curiosities about elephants is the most striking that just as humans can be left-handed or right-handed and this is detected by the Fang they use most frequently.
26.Elephants have sensory cells in the soles of their feet so sensitive that they detect seismic signals or deep ground sounds.
27.As their skin is very sensitive, they use mud as sunscreen as well as protect themselves from bites or keep moisture.
28.One of the curiosities about elephants is the amount of food they can consume in a single day.They can easily eat for 16 hours and carry more than 270 kilos of food.
29.Like small children or great apes, magpies or dolphins, elephants are able to recognize themselves before a mirror.
30.The last of these curiosities about elephants will be dedicated to the teeth of this great mammal.Elephants are polyphiodonts, that is, they have dental rotation cycles throughout their lives.
What do you think about these curiosities about elephants ? Do you know any more? Share it with us so we can complete this list! If you want to know more about the animal world, we invite you to read the post: 25 curiosities of animals that will surely surprise you.
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