Can an elephant swim and run? Five facts and five myths about elephants

Which trees turn red in autumn?

Correct answer: the leaves turn red in rowan, maple and aspen.

Why do rabbits constantly chew something?

This is how they grind their teeth.

With whom can a fox live in the same hole?
With a badger.

What is the cleanest animal?
Badger.

Are toads poisonous?
Yes, it's a toad.

Can elephants swim?

Yes, these giants are excellent swimmers. They also love to play in the water and frolic. They can also lie down in the water almost completely, putting out only the trunk.

Which animal will have babies in autumn? Whose babies are called leaf fallers?

Answer: In a hare, cubs are born in the fall. Hence the cute name for these crumbs appeared.

Why are older moose called moose?

Because his horns look like an old agricultural tool - a plow.

Who has the biggest ears?

In hares, rabbits, elephants, long-eared jerboas, donkeys and fennec foxes.

Where do crayfish hibernate?
They spend the winter in burrows they build along river banks.

Where is it more convenient for a hare to run - from a mountain or uphill? Why?
The hare easily runs upstairs - the hind legs are long. But in them you have to roll head over heels - otherwise it can get tangled in your legs.
Does an elephant have wool or fur?
The powerful body of an elephant is covered with thick and rough skin. It is dotted with numerous deep wrinkles. Adult elephants are practically devoid of hair, and newborn elephants are covered with sparse stiff bristles. The coloration of elephants is uniform gray or brownish.

Does the polar bear hunt penguins?

This is impossible, since penguins and bears live at different poles.

Where do frogs hide for the winter?

They can winter in barns and barns. And those that live far from people - burrow into the sand, silt, mud. Forest hide in the moss.
Who sleeps upside down in winter?
Bat. By the way, mice, arriving for the winter in a chosen cave, always sleep in the same place with an accuracy of 1 cm.

How much does an elephant weigh?
African elephants grow up to 4 meters in height and weigh 5-7 tons. Indian ones are smaller, their height is 2.5-3.5 meters, and their weight is from 3 to 5 tons.

The trunk is not a nose, as many people think, but a completely unique organ formed by a fused nose and upper lip. At the same time, the trunk has its own system of powerful muscles and tendons. Thanks to this structure, the trunk has both strength and flexibility. The power of the trunk is such that with its help the elephant is able to destroy trees, lift logs. At the end of the trunk is a mobile and sensitive outgrowth, with the help of which the elephant is able to touch and manipulate the smallest objects. Elephants are good at recognizing the texture of various surfaces, they can, for example, pick up coins or draw with a brush. The trunk plays an indispensable role in the life of an elephant: the animal needs it for obtaining food, protection, and communication.
With the help of a trunk, elephants also drink water, because a tall and short-necked elephant cannot drink with his mouth. Only small elephants can suck their mother with their mouths, and adult elephants draw water with their trunks, and then only pour it into their mouths. Elephants deprived of their trunks due to injury try to graze on their knees, but eventually die.

At the crocodile.

What do ants do in winter?
They close all the entrances and exits from the anthill, they all gather together in a big pile and wait for warming.

Today, there are a lot of myths and rumors about elephants, and many do not even realize which of all this is true and which is pure fiction. Some are even afraid of these animals because people have a misconception about them. Therefore, it is worth figuring out what an elephant can do and what remains incomprehensible to him.

Briefly about elephants

In fact, this huge animal has a good-natured character. If not treated roughly, it will not harm a person. On average, an adult reaches about five tons. The heart of this beast weighs an average of 20-30 kilograms. The average is 70 years. Elephants stop giving birth at 50. Unfortunately, due to poaching, these animals die before reaching old age. Elephants live in herds, in which the adult female takes on the role of leader. Usually in this family everyone is related to each other, and if one member of the group dies, the rest suffer greatly from the loss of a loved one. It is interesting that these kind people know how to rejoice and even laugh. When they meet, they gently embrace with their trunks.

Elephant and sea

Today there is a lot of controversy about whether elephants can swim. These questions are not surprising, since it may indeed seem impossible that such a mass could float on the surface of the water and not sink to the bottom.

More about water

It is also known that elephants do not just swim, sometimes diving to the bottom, they are able to overcome long distances from coast to coast. Some watched as this animal swam for several kilometers, after which it continued its journey overland. In addition, they can dive deep while using their own as a diving snorkel. Also on the resort islands, a bathing elephant is an attraction for kids who are not averse to keeping this animal company. At the sight of such a spectacle, the question of whether elephants can swim will surely disappear. It can also be noted that they are very fond of water and can feel moisture for another eight kilometers.

Dispel the rumors

Since elephants are the oldest animals, various ideas have developed about them over many centuries, especially among those peoples who have never "communicated" with these animals. Exploring the nature and habits of the good "hulks", you can learn and dispel five more facts and five myths about elephants. To begin with, we will discuss the main fictions about these animals and find out how much they correspond to the truth.

What do the facts say

It will also be interesting to learn a few facts about these good-natured land creatures.

1. Elephants have excellent hearing, in addition to which they have sensitive feet. They catch tremors in the ground with them. With their feet, they can determine where the sound came from.
2. The closest relative of the elephant is a small animal gray daman. The structure of their skulls and legs are very similar.
3. Elephants don't lose their tusks, they sit deep in their skulls. To get this bone, poachers kill animals. Another 70% of the world's population do not know about this terrible fact.
4. These animals have about 2.5 cm, but at the same time it is so sensitive that the elephant feels even when a fly sits on it. In addition, the skin can burn, which is why the animal takes cover in the shade and throws sand on its head.
5. If the mouse gets into the trunk of the beast, he can “shoot” with it.

can elephants swim? and got the best answer

Answer from Rainbow rose[newbie]
The elephant is the largest mammal on our planet! The largest elephant ever to live on Earth was recorded in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb) and stood 4.2 m (13.8 ft) tall, a meter (3.4 ft) taller than the average African elephant. The smallest elephants, the size of a cow or a large pig, lived in the prehistoric period on the island of Crete. Elephants are the royal symbol of Asian culture and are known for their excellent memory and high intelligence, and they are even equated with whales and hominids (belonging to the family of higher primates). Aristotle once said that the elephant is "an animal that surpasses all others in wit and intelligence." Recent discoveries have shown that elephants can communicate with each other over long distances, producing a dull rumble that travels across the ground faster than sound through the air. Other elephants receive messages through sensitive skin on the soles of their feet and trunks. It is believed that this is how groups call on each other for help.
It has long been known that the tusks of dead elephants are not found in the African savannahs and jungles. There was even a legend that elephants go to die in mysterious and impregnable cemeteries for elephants. In the twentieth century, the hunter John Hunter managed to establish where the tusks disappear. He found that African porcupines eat them, thus trying to satisfy their mineral hunger, since during the rainy season heavy rains wash out minerals from the soil. Usually predators do not attack elephants, although lions can attack their babies, and sometimes adult animals. Yet in some areas, lions regularly prey on elephants.
It's interesting that:
Elephants can be up to 2.7 m (9 ft) tall and weigh between 3 and 5 tons (3,200–4,500 kg or 7,000–12,000 lb.). 3-4.5 tons (2300-4500 kg or 5000-10000 lb.) Newborn baby elephants are born about 0.9 m (3 ft) tall and weigh 90 kg (200 lb).
Despite its enormous size, the elephant has a unique sense of balance and an extremely keen sense of touch.
The elephant has the largest ears of all living creatures on Earth.
Their skin is quite thick - 2.5 cm (1").
The brain of an elephant weighs approximately 5 kg or 11 pounds (which is 4 times heavier than a human brain).
The elephant swims very well, even at depth.
Usually elephants move at a speed of 2-6 km / h, but for a short time they can reach speeds of up to 35-40 km / h.
Elephants sleep standing up, gathered together in a dense group; only the cubs lie on their side on the ground.
Pulse - about 28 beats per minute!
Photo of elephants:

Answer from 2 answers[guru]

Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: can elephants swim?

Answer from LORA[guru]
Oh sure!

Answer from TV series lover[guru]
An elephant is not only a good swimmer, but it can also dive underwater.

Answer from DDD[guru]
Yes, they can, and very quickly.

Answer from Karboffos[guru]
They know how. They jump into the river and immediately dry land appears.

Answer from sasha bird[guru]
Elephants, like most animals, can swim, and those who cannot swim dive!

Answer from Mujer-Aguila[expert]
They can do it very well and for very long distances ...

Answer from *Julia*[guru]
I think they do!!!

Answer from V. Makarova[guru]
know how and not bad!

Answer from User deleted[guru]
elephants can swim.

Answer from Lady[guru]
Yes

Answer from Alexey Kuznetsov[guru]
On TV they showed something like that - an elephant was impatient for a party with a girlfriend on a neighboring island a few kilometers away. The elephant rushes like a tug, and the driver calmly cools off on his neck.

Last week, representatives of a number of African and Asian countries agreed to jointly protect elephants. Among other things, the agreement provides for cooperation in the search and arrest of poachers and the expansion of the powers of the environmental departments of the countries of the Black Continent in the fight against criminal gangs that hunt the largest land animals on the planet.

Elephants are in danger of extinction. Every 15 minutes, one elephant dies at the hands of poachers on the Black Continent. If the extermination of the largest land animals continues at the same pace, then by 2025 there will not be a single elephant left in African shrouds.

Tanzania, for example, has already lost half of its elephants in the last three years. In 2009, according to various estimates, from 70 to 80 thousand elephants lived in this African country, that is, almost a quarter of the total elephant population in Africa, and now it is half that.

According to the US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell The trade in elephant tusks, rhinoceros horns, skins and other trophies from illegal safaris has doubled over the past five years to reach $10 billion. In terms of profitability, this type of criminal activity is in fourth place.

Not only animal advocates, but also politicians should fight against poachers. Terrorist organizations are financed with money from the sale of ivory, which in Africa is often called the “white gold of jihad”. Including "Al-Shabaab", sadly "famous" for the recent hostage-taking in a shopping center in Nairobi.

There are the most incredible rumors about elephants. Before defending them, it would be nice to start by understanding where they are true and where fiction.

1. Elephants use their trunks like drinking straws.

Elephants do use their trunks to drink. They actually draw water into their trunks but then transfer it to their mouths. By the way, elephants drink a lot - an average of 140 to 230 liters per day.

2. Elephants love peanuts.

The purest water is a myth, because the largest land animals do not eat peanuts either in the wild or in zoos. Considering the size of elephants, it is not surprising that about most of the time they eat. They spend 16-18 hours a day doing this activity. There is nothing in peanuts that would repel these animals or be contraindicated for them. It’s just that the nuts are very small, and in order to get enough of them, even 25 hours a day will not be enough for elephants.

3. Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

Adult elephants really can't jump, but they're not the only ones who can't. There are many other mammals that also cannot jump. For example, sloths, hippos and rhinos. True, unlike elephants, hippos and rhinoceros can take off all four legs from the ground at the same time while running.

4. Elephants never forget.

The largest land animals actually have excellent, but still not phenomenal memory. Imitation is at the heart of their learning process. They have the heaviest brain among land animals, which weighs 5 kg. After training, they are able to distinguish and carry out over 60 commands. Elephants remember trainers well and can remember them many years later.

5. Elephants are too heavy to swim.

On the contrary, elephants are very fond of water and can detect its smell at a distance of up to 8 km. Not only do they love water, but they are excellent swimmers. There are cases when they used their trunks as breathing tubes for diving.

1. Elephants "hear" with their feet.

Elephants have excellent hearing, but African elephants are also able to pick up the tremors of the earth with the help of special sensitive cells in the soles of their feet. Elephants not only hear the sound, but can also determine the direction from which it comes.

2. The closest relative of an elephant is an animal that looks like a guinea pig.

Gray hyraxes are small, furry, rat-like mammals that live in the highlands of Africa and along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Oddly enough, but elephants and hyraxes do have a lot in common in the structure of their toes, teeth and skull. Biologists believe that they had a common ancestor who lived about 60 million years ago.

3. In Chinese, "ivory" means "elephant tooth."

Although elephant tusks are actually elongated incisors, they do not fall out like humans do. In China, where the ivory trade flourishes, not everyone understands that elephants are killed in order to get it. According to polls, about 70% of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire do not know this.

4. Elephants have unusually thick skin.

The scientific term pachyderm, used to refer to the order of mammals that includes elephants and rhinos, comes from the Greek word pachydermose, which translates as "thick-skinned." Despite its great thickness, elephant skin is unusually sensitive. So much so that the elephant feels when a fly sits on its back.

Elephant skin is not only sensitive but also vulnerable. Elephants can get sunburned and therefore hide in the shade or throw sand on their heads and backs to protect their skin from the sun.

5. Elephants are very sociable and social animals.

The herd of elephants usually consists of 10-15 elephants and baby elephants. It is headed by the most experienced elephant. Having reached the age of maturity - 12-15 years, the males leave the herd and return only to mate with the female. By the way, the process of bearing offspring in elephants is the longest among land animals. Pregnancy lasts 22 months.

Elephants greet each other by carefully touching the interlocutor's mouth with the tip of their trunk. They sleep standing up and only two to three hours. They can't take longer because they have to eat.