Elephant sightings are on every southern African safari travelers bucket list. These fascinating creatures have an incredible social structure and are capable of intense emotion. Here are a few of the things that make elephants so special
Size Really Counts
If there’s one thing that’s helped the elephant survive through the millennia, it’s their immense size. Most mature elephants stand at least 3m at the shoulder and weigh anything from 2.7 to 3.5 tons. Their sheer bulk deters most predators except the bravest lions, and man of course. To hold up all this weight, the elephant has a rigid, inflexible skeleton and a short muscular neck.
While elephants will never be graceful and nimble, they can reach a top speed of 40 km per hour when pressed. Technically, they do not run but rather ‘’speed walk’’ to escape from danger or attack offenders. Elephants cannot jump either, thanks to the design of their legs.
A thick pad of fatty tissue under the foot absorbs the 3-ton impact caused by each step. It also enables them to walk remarkably silently through the bush.
Tusks – A Double-Edged Sword
Apart from their trunks, an elephant’s tusks are handy tools used for digging, debarking, breaking and ripping trees, as well as defense. The tusks are modified incisor teeth, firmly embedded in the skull and continue to grow throughout its life but are often broken or chipped during use.
It is possible, but very uncommon, for elephants to have four tusks instead of two. The days of the giant tuskers are long gone thanks to hunters, and it has been noted that tuskless elephants are becoming more common. It is believed that this is a result of natural selection due to poaching.
Powering Up
Elephants are voracious eaters and can consume up to 200kg of vegetation every day, washed down by 270 liters of water. They are not fussy eaters by any standards and will consume almost anything vegetarian – switching from browsing to grazing as required.
Their indiscriminate grazing habits mean that they are a keystone species and can have an enormous impact on their environment. If it weren’t for elephants, most of Africa would possibly be covered in dense jungles.
The trunk of the elephant is its most important tool for sustenance. It is used to pick up food and suck up water and transfer it to the mouth.
Nimble Noses
The elephant’s trunk is a complex and useful organ and its tip is 10 times more sensitive than a human fingertip. It can perform delicate operations, like picking up a single peanut or big movements like stripping bark from trees.
It is also used to spray water over the elephant’s body during their daily bathing session, to pick up scent and to communicate.
Bathing helps to eradicate pests as well as cool the animals down in the hot African sun, but it’s not enough. Elephants also use their huge ears like fans to wave cool air over their bodies and to cool their blood. Every 20 minutes, every drop of blood in an elephant’s body passes through its ears.
Their wrinkly skins help them to keep water from their bathing close to the skin for longer and assist in cooling. If you were to stretch an elephants skin out it would double in size.
Social Ties
Most elephant families consist of several females with their young, led by a dominant matriarch. Herds seldom exceed 15 to 20 animals but may join up to form much larger coalitions when food is abundant.
Elephants communicate with each other via touch, smell and complex interactions. They show distinct signs of agitation when a family member is hurt or ill and are known to work as a team to help one another or to perform a difficult task.
Where to See Elephants
There’s a good chance that you’ll see elephants on your southern African safari as they are protected in the game reserves of South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Give us a call today and book your trip to discover more about Africa’s Big Five.
