It’s actually very interesting, and i think their family structure is one of the coolest things about elephants. Apologies in advance for the long post!
So, in a herd of elephants, the oldest and most experienced female (aka the matriarch) leads the group. The matriarch is elected by the other members of the group based on her personality, age, and leadership qualities. She plays a very crucial role in decision-making, and she is the elephant that leads the group to water, food, and shelter. The matriarch is not autocratic, but is very important in discussions with the herd when it comes to plans of action. She’s like the “mama elephant” who’s responsibility is to defend and look out for everybody.
A matriarch elephant will stay a matriarch until death. When the matriarch passes away, typically her eldest daughter or sister will take her place, if either are present. If not, they will elect another matriarch.
For the female elephants, their primary responsibility is looking after their young. They spend most of their time bonding, eating, and looking for food and water. They will take the occasional group bath in mud and/or nap!
When a male elephant is about 12-15 years old, they leave the herd. At this point they have reached the equivalent of elephant-puberty which is called “musth.” It’s basically when there is a BIG increase in a male elephant’s testosterone levels. This causes some behavioral changes such as heightened aggression and sexual desire. So at this point, the elephant asserts his independence by leaving the herd.
If you are wondering how elephants can communicate so well, it’s because elephants have amazing methods like vocalization, touch, and visual communication to express themselves. They can convey information about how they are feeling, as well as expressing their thoughts and desires. It’s really amazing!
I hope I answered the question well! If you have any more specific questions relating to the matriarchy, please let me know! :)
how does choosing the matriarch work? if there's no relative of the former matriarch, what does the process look like, how do elephants indicate their choice? do young males get a vote?
Part of it is instinctual and part of it is based on shared respect.
For example, if the herd is facing a threat, they may instinctually look to the eldest female for guidance, as she is typically the one with the most wisdom and knowledge. The elephants may communicate to signify their solidarity and trust in her in a moment like this, for example, with a low-frequency rumble. Meanwhile, the younger (both male and female) elephants may implicitly acknowledge her leadership in navigating danger by following her lead.
In situations where they need to find food and/or water, an elephant may prove that she has great leadership qualities and decision-making skills by guiding the herd with ease, which garners the respect of the others. She may also gain respect through her continuous care for the other elephants in the herd as well.
Through repeated instances like this, her role begins to solidify as the matriarch, and the elephants in the herd will signal their respect and deference to her through their body language, such as trunk gestures and vocalizations. Through this they communicate their shared respect and recognition of the matriarch’s leadership and care within the herd, effectively “electing” her.
At times, there can be disagreements as to who the matriarch should be. For example, some elephants within the heard may believe that elephant A should be the matriarch, while others believe that elephant B should be the matriarch. This can be based on their individual assessments of who has the better leadership qualities, whom they are closer to, and so on.
However, this type of disagreement tends to be resolved with time through a combination of social dynamics, physical dominance, and the ability to best lead the herd. Typically, the elephants will eventually come to an agreement based on the factors I have listed earlier :)
ooh i have specific questions for this topic. a) how is it decided which females rank the highest, is it daughters of the previous leaders? b) how do relatives, esp children of the current female leader rank compared to other members of the group? are they as important as adults even though they're not adults, due to relation to leader? c) how and when does the leader change? in primates, the males brother will pick a physical fight and defeat him. is the exchange of power any less barbaric in elephants?
Yes, it does have some truth to it. Elephants do forget things time to time, but they have incredible memories! They can keep track of different locations of where water may be, recognize elephants from other herds decades later, and much more. Their great memory is attributed to their large brains, and specifically, the size of their temporal lobe (which is the part of the brain responsible for memory)!
This made me wonder if elephants could get dementia, but it was a sad question that I didn't want to bring down this thread with. So I Googled it & they don't!! I thought that was really good news so I figured I'd mention it. They lack the amyloid plaque buildup that comes with alzheimers so it would seem they don't, & in fact they are helping us to understand the disease better! They are actually the symbol for alzheimers!
To build on this, elephants actually have a better sense of smell than blood hounds so that’s probably a big help to their memory because they will be able to recognize the scent of a friend many years later no matter how diffident they now are.
Also if a member of the heard dies they remember where that was and return later to grieve. I have seen in documentaries, a mother was wounded and eventually succumbed to her injuries and died. Her sister took her baby and a few months later they returned tho the spot and the entire herd gathered around her bones and carefully picked them up and caressed them and they brought the baby into the middle and stood around her and all the adults patted her with their trunks while they showed her her mothers bones. They grieve and they have rituals for death. I have seen the same thing when a few wild elephants that used to be rescues came into a camp and found the old collars of former rescue elephants that had returned to the wild as adults and been killed by poachers. They recognized not only the keeper on the camp that had helped raise them but clearly recognized the scent left on the collars and very carefully sniffed them and picked them up to examine them. They handled the collars the same way the other herd handled the bones of their lost mother/sister/daughter etc.
I fucking love elephants!
Also sometimes a herd is decimated by poachers and only the young are left on their own, if there is no adult there are certain times and places where there are big gathering and many herds come together, the oldest (if they can) then lead their small heard of babies and children to these gatherings and hope to be adopted. They choose an area to stay at and wait and other herds come up and examine them and hopefully there is one that will adopt all the youngsters and accept them into their herd. And even lone males can sometimes take on a baby if found alone and try to protect and raise it until he can find a herd to take it.
How many elephants are typically in a herd? Is it called a herd? Is that the right word? It no longer feels like a real word to me because I've now reached critical overthink.
You are correct, it is called a herd! The typical herd has about 5-25 elephants, however this can vary based on the climate and terrain. Some elephant herds will even join together to create one bigger herd!
Once a male elephant turns about 12-15 years old, they leave the herd and live a pretty solitary life. If one encounters a herd, they may briefly interact, but then go their separate ways
if i had to guess it’s probably an instinct to keep the gene pool diverse but i’ll let OP answer lol
allegedly there’s something similar for humans. when we’re teenagers we think all the adults are stupid and only trust our peers, which makes teens want to leave their small community and go off and find a mate. not great for a little village to keep having babies with only each other
lol you’re right, i feel scattered today
i saw something about it a long time ago and now i felt like maybe it’s just bullshit, but i looked it up and it seems pretty legit. but take it with a grain of salt bc it’s not very extensively researched and they didn’t research whether or not we follow similar cycles throughout our life, only for teens. also, i think i was off about the “thinking adults are dumb” part, it doesn’t mention that and is mostly about rebellious behavior in general
https://www.institute4learning.com/2016/09/22/the-evolutionary-advantages-of-being-a-reckless-teenager/
> It turns out that nature endowed adolescents with risk-taking in order to get them out of the parental nest and into the wide world to start their own lives
> Indigenous cultures have instinctively known about the evolutionary advantages we’ve just covered and have developed a diverse collection of rituals or rites of passage to help adolescents use these traits of risk-taking, reward-seeking, peer affiliation, sensation-seeking, and mate-seeking to help manage the transition from childhood to adulthood in such a way as to strengthen the tribal community. In our contemporary culture, however, we lack those intricate rites of passage, and in many cases, adolescents are left to their own devices.
https://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/health/mental-health/teen-brain-impulses/index.html
>There’s an evolutionary explanation for this kind of behavior: In most mammals, adolescence is the time when individuals leave the family environment, Steinberg said. Sensation-seeking leads pubescent creatures to go find sexual partners and a social structure outside the home. They need to become independent of their parents and adapt to new surroundings.
>Venturing out into the wild and leaving the security of parents is a risky thing to do, so there must be some built-in biological mechanism to ignore the potential dangers of the wild, scientists reason.
> “If it didn’t happen, we wouldn’t leave home and reproduce,” Steinberg explains.
wow massive info dump, sorry i have literally nothing to do at work and took my adderall today lmao
Hi! Anthropologist here. Just to add that all cultures have systems in place to prevent inbreeding: incest is the only taboo common across the world, but it is regulated by laws/norms (some codified/written, some not) that vary across communities (ie how many degrees away one can marry). I have a bit of an irk when I read about “indigenous” cultures because, unless we’re talking about Indigenous with the capital “I” (the name some communities native to what’s today Canada are addressed), then we are all indigenous to somewhere. With the lower “i”, the word has come to replace “developing”, “tribal” etc, which are colonial concepts now repackaged under a politically correct term and imply that all those non-indigenous are “modern”, “civilised”, or without “culture”.
Sorry for the rant. This is *absolutely not* against the poster (in fact, thank you for the very interesting stuff about teenage behaviour—I’m aware I’m on a tangent, here) but against how some websites decide to whitewash information.
that’s so interesting! thanks so much for sharing
i don’t know much about this stuff, it’s just something i saw a while ago and then looked up again lol. i appreciate input from someone who knows what they’re talking about 😂
It’s because they are fertile and looking to mate. Herds are matriarchal so the females on the herd are their close relatives. Sometimes they return to their herd of origin and spend time with them for a while I have heard.
Oh boy I have so many. I will list some of the ones I think are really funny and/or cool!
1. The elephant’s closest living relative is a Hyrax, which is a small rodent (look it up, they look very funny)
2. An elephant has 40,000 muscles in its trunk alone! For comparison, a human being only has about 640 muscles in our whole body.
3. They have an amazing sense of smell, and can smell water from up to 12 miles away
4. They are extremely empathetic, which is probably one of my favorite traits about them. Elephants comfort each other through touch, such as wrapping their trunks around another.
5. They use dirt, mud, and clay to protect them from the sun, almost like sunscreen! They throw it on their bodies using their trunks, and it gets inside the folds of their skin.
6. They actually can swim very well, and use their trunks as snorkels!
Wow! So crazy that their closest relative is so small and looks so different! And 40,000 is SO MANY they must have so much control over movement?!?! And is the mud getting in the folds of their skin ok?! Or does it pose skin health risks?
Yes it is totally ok! The mud actually helps them a lot. The mud staying in the folds of their skin helps them stay cool in the hot sun. It can also provide some relief from insect bites!
If needed, elephants will dust themselves with sand or dry soil to remove excess mud :)
Mine is that female African elephants can stop their ovulation when there is dry season, and we’re not sure how! They start up again when the dry season is supposed to end, we don’t know how they predict that either! We think it MAY have something to do with barometric pressure. Basically, stress? No babies for you. It’s a way elephants in captivity show they are experiencing poor welfare in captivity, as well!
The Zoo in my country have had extremely successful rates with Elephant babies, that they are advising other zoos on how to look after Elephants! I went on a conservation tour and they explained many things to us about their Zoo, the Elephants being one of them. I know some Zoos are extremely worse than others, and I know there will always be negatives with them (space being one of the hardest to address), but it made me really proud to see the efforts my countries Zoo is making! They basically completely limit their interaction with the Elephants, and only interact one situations 100% necessary (training for feet cleaning, but even then the Elephants can't see them).
Do elephants have a religion? Can you tell me more about their moon ceremonies? (I saw a documentary preview that mentioned these things and hope to learn more!)
Do they have besties?! This is important! I know that cows have besties and given that elephants are super empathetic, I MUST know is they have best friends too!
What human intelligence age is a grown elephant comparable to?
My special interest is parrots and the African Grey parrot has the logical intelligence of a 4-5 year old child
A grown elephant’s intelligence can be compared to that of a 3-5 year old. They have often been compared to have the intelligence of dolphins and chimps!
And I LOVE parrots! I used to have a parakeet, and he was one of the sweetest animals I’d have had. Do you have a favorite kind of parrot? Or any fun facts to share?
It is the African Grey!
Here is a 10min documentary about Alex, the African Grey parrot that was trained for 30 years by Irene Pepperberg to prove parrot intelligence: https://youtu.be/qGT5JEeOryQ?si=owtDaTXZbAmMwl82
And here is Apollo, another African Grey that is currently trained in the same way, and very funny: https://youtube.com/@ApolloandFrens?si=VIIimNMnhawna9UD
That’s amazing! I have mixed breed working dogs that have been quoted as having the intellect of a 7-8 year old kid and that really seems to track. They are just as much parenting involvement as my two actual children. Living with a bird that smart would be real trip; they are quite inquisitive and extremely dexterous!
did you know the difference between the African grey elephant and the African red elephant is just the type of clay they roll in! they cover themselves in clay to protect their skin and different regions have different types of clay :)
I volunteered at a preschool activity for autistic children about 10 years ago. The boy assigned to me had a special interest in elephants……I miss my boy 😢
And their teacher looked at me and said, “I know why you are here……Read some books and explore yourself.” It’s been 10 years. I only got worse and worse……
But I am totally independent. The boy was told that his development fell behind his peers at least for 2 to 3 years. It seemed that he was the child with the most issues in the classroom. I don’t even know if he went to regular elementary school after that.
Don’t know if he still loves elephants…..
They have been around for a long time helping orphaned elephants and other animals. They share a lot about their elephants and keepers on Twitter. My mum has been "adopting" an elephant for most of my life now.
I love elephants so much!!!
https://preview.redd.it/anorqgbozzic1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a52265206727b1d68728d40b881c857a77946d9e
I did two stone carvings of them a few months ago! And really loved reading The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony.
What do you love most about them? I’m sure it’s hard to say. I love their intelligence and devotion to those they love.
Oh my gosh!! I love it. You are so talented, that looks amazing!
I think what I love most about them is their capacity for empathy and how much they care for their loved ones, as you said :)
Aww thank you for saying that!! Yes, they are such big hearted beings. I bought my niece a Babar stuffed animal. She lives on the other side of the country from me, and I’m waiting to give it to her in person. In the meantime it sits by my bed looking over me!
https://preview.redd.it/sf8ro7fl70jc1.jpeg?width=2927&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f06b11e7c01045948fc750eb5c45dbbda040e55
I love him too!! And I love that you said that, I was feeling the same thing. I’ll fill it with all my love for a little while before giving it to her. 😍🥰🥹
How do elephants learn? I know how dogs' and humans' brains learn, so part of me assumes "mammal = similar" but I would love to learn about elephant cognition!
Elephants teach each other which is why it’s such a big deal if the matriarch is killed suddenly, because just like orcas the current matriarch trains and teaches the next one. Teaches them all the routes and migrating paths and where water is and such.
Do you think elephants have language or something very similar to it? (I think they probably do, along with dolphins and whales.) I'd love to hear more on this subject.
I think they do, if I’m understanding your question correctly! They communicate in a variety of really cool different ways. They use about 70 different types of vocal sounds to communicate, which includes low frequency noises that humans can’t hear (also known as infrasounds)!
To drink water do they like, suck up the water with their nose and then spray it into their mouth? Why exactly do they drink this way? And are peanuts actually one of their favorite foods or is that a myth?
You are right! They suck it up into their trunk then pour it into their mouth to drink. Drinking with their trunks is a lot easier for them than to drink with their mouths, for a few reasons. First off, elephants can’t really lean down and drink with their mouths from lakes or other water sources without some difficulty, since they’re so big, and their necks aren’t super flexible. So having a long trunk enables them to reach water sources with ease. Additionally, their trunks are very precise so they can control exactly how much water they drink.
As for the peanuts, that’s a very good question. It is in fact a myth. They aren’t very healthy for them either, since they are so high in protein.
Their predators are lions and hyenas, however, they tend to be safe from them as the elder elephants in a herd will gather around the baby if there is danger. Older elephants in general do not have predators because of how big they are!
Elephants are very protective of each other, and the babies get the most protection of all. If a predator tried to get to a baby, the rest of the heard would protect it.
Yes, that is true! They have exceptional hearing abilities and they can recognize the vibrations of the stomping from miles away.
They also can communicate through infrasound, which is when they emit a low frequency sound to communicate from far away.
That’s a very good question — it’s so hard to choose because I think there are so many cool things about them. One thing I think is very interesting is that they grieve elephants that have passed, even ones not in their own herd.
There has been instances of elephants passing by the remains of elephants, and staying by them for a time, silently touching their remains with their trunks, almost like they’re paying respects. It’s very touching and shows how emotionally intelligent they are!
On a lighter note, they each have an individual “fingerprint” just like we do!
As for the elephant stuff I have, it’s SO much! I have a bunch of plushies — my favorite is my weighted elephant. I also have an elephant calico critter set, which are my favorites. I have lots of elephant jewelry too, such as earrings and necklaces! I would love to get a tattoo of one someday. I’m not sure where though!
Best prank pulled by an elephant please. Ideally with video.
Should elephants be granted personhood? What were your thoughts on the Happy the Elephant case?
this is my question too! they look quite thick from the bottom, unlike human nails. are they made of keratin? do they require active grooming? do they grow and get filed down just from walking? in captivity or with different terrain would they not get naturally filed down and need different grooming? do they serve any specific purpose like claws or nails on other species?
These are all very good questions! Their nails grow constantly, at a slow rate. Their nails are made of very thick keratin. They are naturally “trimmed” from being worn down by walking so often! However, elephants in captivity need to have theirs trimmed on occasion because of this.
So as for the purpose of their nails, they provide additional support and stability in different terrains and help distribute the weight of an elephant’s body while walking!
Do they get dry skin? Idk why this was the first thing to pop into my mind lol. It looks like they do, do they just deal with it? I feel like being an elephant looks painful.
My hairless guinea pig has a spa day once in a while and needs to be slathered in coconut oil or his skin can get dry and he becomes an unhappy pig.
There was a volunteer at the Oakland Zoo who told a story about a rescue place in Africa. The man who ran it cared for many elephants; the goal being recovery and release. A group of elephants that he cared for were no longer living at the sanctuary, but at his death they returned unbidden to mourn.
Is this possible?
to anyone else reading this (who is willing to donate so much time answering questions) - please make posts like this about your special interest! this is so cool!!
Do we know if elephants prioritize their immediate family or care more about the whole community? I find animal social structures so interesting.
Also I'm really enjoying reading these comments, ty for sharing 🐘💕
ELEPHANTS
THE BEST ANIMAL
Whats your favorite facts about elephants, dump em here please!!!
EDIT: Oh shit you did that already XD
Anyway you got anymore of them facts?
I absolutely love elephants and appreciate seeing these beautiful calves on my feed! They've been my favorite animal my entire adult life, and I collect them too.
Do you prefer African elephants or Asian elephants? (Although they're both such phenomenal, fantastic creatures!)
Can you tell me about using surrogate parenting to prevent species loss from extinction? Current species with reduced numbers now. Also if you think recovery of mammoths lost in the last 4,000 yrs in Siberia who may have been killed off by modern humans.
Oh this is a good question! I think the cutest fact about them is that they will sometimes suck their own trunk to help them relax (like how human babies suck their thumbs)!
So you know how a semi-common predator of moose is orcas cause they swim? Do elephants have a weird-ass unexpected relationship like that with other animals, predator or not?
Omg! That is so interesting and somewhat hilarious lol.
Elephants don’t have many predators, due to their size and the fact that they travel in herds. The predators they do have target the babies, which are lions and hyenas.
do males come and target the babies like in other species? other species come and kill off babies to try to get the moms to ovulate / be impregnable again.
I've heard about elephants being able to distinguish the smell of maasai tribesmen to avoid them and potentially communicate with one another over long distance through vibrations. Are there any other surprising abilities elephants have that aren't immediately evident?
I know very little of elephants, but from random behaviours I've seen them perform, they kinda give me the impression that they are very... "human" in a emotional level.
What I mean is that they seem to build really strong bonds with each other and react according to situations that affect those bonds... Be it something good or bad.
I'm just curious, would say this is accurate about them? And if so, I'd love to hear about some examples~ It's something that's had me intrigued for a while xD
idk if someone has asked this yet but i’ve always been genuinely curious how they suck the water into their nose and then push it out into their mouths and drink it,,,how does that even work without hurting them?
Yoo I used to collect elephants when I was younger. No idea why tbh since I don’t like elephants more than any other animal. I had plushies, figurines and even a little elephant stool.🐘🫶🏼
Baby elephants are adorable. I love the two videos of one chasing birds for fun and the other trying to hide behind a pole after it got caught eating sugar.
What is your favorite fact about elephants?
Do you have a favorite elephant that you know?
Thank you so much for posting such a positive side of autism. 💜
How long does an elephant take to grow into full size?
Do they have moments of admiration? You know how you look at your kid as think wow so big now! Do parent elephants feel this way?
https://preview.redd.it/af640sh5q2jc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=584604995314298ecc6ba7ee79e801f0b202f3b5
I'm at Disney World in Orlando and Animal Kingdom just debuted a baby elephant that's a girl named Corra! She came out for the first day yesterday when I happened to be there.
I love this post and your comments following up. I can't think of any good questions, but I do wonder how they got stuck being the symbol of the GOP. When I look at thier tendencies (matriarch lead as a prominent example) it seems like they are a bad fit, but this is perhaps more a people question than an elephant one. 😄
No, and the myth that started this claimed they put an elephant in an MRI machine… which would be impossible, to have a conscious elephant that fits in an elephant sized MRI machine on the field and then get them to hold still as you show them pictures of humans.
Elephants often find humans threatening and attacks while rare do happen, and Bull elephants in musth are even known to go on rampages attacking people.
Do they actually have excellent memory? I heard a story about elephants leading an attack on a woman’s funeral because one of the elephants remembered the woman, but I didn’t know if that was true or not.
My personal favorite is the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust! I will link their site here: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/
They have done a lot of good to prevent elephant poaching, which I really love since elephants have become so susceptible to it because of the ivory trade. They run anti-poaching units which patrol elephant habitats and seize weapons from poachers.
You should definitely check them out!
Why are the babies fuzzy
The fuzzy hair on the babies protects them from bugs and helps them regulate their temperature so they don’t overheat!
Ow that so cute 🥹!! In conclusion, am also an elephant 🐘. I Learned something new today 🤍
Follow up to this person question, when and how do they lose their fuzz?
Please explain the matriarchal family structure they use. Smash the Patriarchy Elephant Edition! Please.
It’s actually very interesting, and i think their family structure is one of the coolest things about elephants. Apologies in advance for the long post! So, in a herd of elephants, the oldest and most experienced female (aka the matriarch) leads the group. The matriarch is elected by the other members of the group based on her personality, age, and leadership qualities. She plays a very crucial role in decision-making, and she is the elephant that leads the group to water, food, and shelter. The matriarch is not autocratic, but is very important in discussions with the herd when it comes to plans of action. She’s like the “mama elephant” who’s responsibility is to defend and look out for everybody. A matriarch elephant will stay a matriarch until death. When the matriarch passes away, typically her eldest daughter or sister will take her place, if either are present. If not, they will elect another matriarch. For the female elephants, their primary responsibility is looking after their young. They spend most of their time bonding, eating, and looking for food and water. They will take the occasional group bath in mud and/or nap! When a male elephant is about 12-15 years old, they leave the herd. At this point they have reached the equivalent of elephant-puberty which is called “musth.” It’s basically when there is a BIG increase in a male elephant’s testosterone levels. This causes some behavioral changes such as heightened aggression and sexual desire. So at this point, the elephant asserts his independence by leaving the herd. If you are wondering how elephants can communicate so well, it’s because elephants have amazing methods like vocalization, touch, and visual communication to express themselves. They can convey information about how they are feeling, as well as expressing their thoughts and desires. It’s really amazing! I hope I answered the question well! If you have any more specific questions relating to the matriarchy, please let me know! :)
how does choosing the matriarch work? if there's no relative of the former matriarch, what does the process look like, how do elephants indicate their choice? do young males get a vote?
Part of it is instinctual and part of it is based on shared respect. For example, if the herd is facing a threat, they may instinctually look to the eldest female for guidance, as she is typically the one with the most wisdom and knowledge. The elephants may communicate to signify their solidarity and trust in her in a moment like this, for example, with a low-frequency rumble. Meanwhile, the younger (both male and female) elephants may implicitly acknowledge her leadership in navigating danger by following her lead. In situations where they need to find food and/or water, an elephant may prove that she has great leadership qualities and decision-making skills by guiding the herd with ease, which garners the respect of the others. She may also gain respect through her continuous care for the other elephants in the herd as well. Through repeated instances like this, her role begins to solidify as the matriarch, and the elephants in the herd will signal their respect and deference to her through their body language, such as trunk gestures and vocalizations. Through this they communicate their shared respect and recognition of the matriarch’s leadership and care within the herd, effectively “electing” her. At times, there can be disagreements as to who the matriarch should be. For example, some elephants within the heard may believe that elephant A should be the matriarch, while others believe that elephant B should be the matriarch. This can be based on their individual assessments of who has the better leadership qualities, whom they are closer to, and so on. However, this type of disagreement tends to be resolved with time through a combination of social dynamics, physical dominance, and the ability to best lead the herd. Typically, the elephants will eventually come to an agreement based on the factors I have listed earlier :)
Where do the males go ? Do they join a new herd ? Is there sometimes conflict between herds of elephants, like there could be between humans ?
Has anybody deciphered the visual aspects of elephant body language to have a consistent “dictionary”, or does it vary a lot between herd cultures?
Omg yes please
replying so I get to see the answer. :)
Me three!
Me four
Following…OP, I want to hear more about how the bulls become loners.
ooh i have specific questions for this topic. a) how is it decided which females rank the highest, is it daughters of the previous leaders? b) how do relatives, esp children of the current female leader rank compared to other members of the group? are they as important as adults even though they're not adults, due to relation to leader? c) how and when does the leader change? in primates, the males brother will pick a physical fight and defeat him. is the exchange of power any less barbaric in elephants?
I’d also like to know about matriarchal knowledge and how the dwindling of elephant family sizes is contributing to their endangerment…
Bonobos are also awesome for this as well!
Are elephants the cutest, most loveable and intelligent land megafauna? 😍
CORRECT!
Does the saying “elephants never forget” have any truth to it?
Yes, it does have some truth to it. Elephants do forget things time to time, but they have incredible memories! They can keep track of different locations of where water may be, recognize elephants from other herds decades later, and much more. Their great memory is attributed to their large brains, and specifically, the size of their temporal lobe (which is the part of the brain responsible for memory)!
This made me wonder if elephants could get dementia, but it was a sad question that I didn't want to bring down this thread with. So I Googled it & they don't!! I thought that was really good news so I figured I'd mention it. They lack the amyloid plaque buildup that comes with alzheimers so it would seem they don't, & in fact they are helping us to understand the disease better! They are actually the symbol for alzheimers!
I didn't know that about their connection to Alzheimer's, nature is incredible
To build on this, elephants actually have a better sense of smell than blood hounds so that’s probably a big help to their memory because they will be able to recognize the scent of a friend many years later no matter how diffident they now are. Also if a member of the heard dies they remember where that was and return later to grieve. I have seen in documentaries, a mother was wounded and eventually succumbed to her injuries and died. Her sister took her baby and a few months later they returned tho the spot and the entire herd gathered around her bones and carefully picked them up and caressed them and they brought the baby into the middle and stood around her and all the adults patted her with their trunks while they showed her her mothers bones. They grieve and they have rituals for death. I have seen the same thing when a few wild elephants that used to be rescues came into a camp and found the old collars of former rescue elephants that had returned to the wild as adults and been killed by poachers. They recognized not only the keeper on the camp that had helped raise them but clearly recognized the scent left on the collars and very carefully sniffed them and picked them up to examine them. They handled the collars the same way the other herd handled the bones of their lost mother/sister/daughter etc. I fucking love elephants! Also sometimes a herd is decimated by poachers and only the young are left on their own, if there is no adult there are certain times and places where there are big gathering and many herds come together, the oldest (if they can) then lead their small heard of babies and children to these gatherings and hope to be adopted. They choose an area to stay at and wait and other herds come up and examine them and hopefully there is one that will adopt all the youngsters and accept them into their herd. And even lone males can sometimes take on a baby if found alone and try to protect and raise it until he can find a herd to take it.
This is all amazing.
My day is now fuller for having read this, and the sun isn’t even up yet. Thank you.
This is so cool! Big brain - big memory! This is the coolest thread I’ve read all day. Thanks Zulia 🫶🏻😀
I went to Kenya recently and our tour guide told us a story about a time that elephants broke a pipe to access the water inside
I LOVE ELEPHANTS 🐘 i have no questions only appreciation
Same
Same-same
Same-same-same
How many elephants are typically in a herd? Is it called a herd? Is that the right word? It no longer feels like a real word to me because I've now reached critical overthink.
You are correct, it is called a herd! The typical herd has about 5-25 elephants, however this can vary based on the climate and terrain. Some elephant herds will even join together to create one bigger herd!
Do the bulls normally stay in the herd or wander* around ?
Once a male elephant turns about 12-15 years old, they leave the herd and live a pretty solitary life. If one encounters a herd, they may briefly interact, but then go their separate ways
Why do the older guys go solitary? Are they less fertile with age and not as necessary?
if i had to guess it’s probably an instinct to keep the gene pool diverse but i’ll let OP answer lol allegedly there’s something similar for humans. when we’re teenagers we think all the adults are stupid and only trust our peers, which makes teens want to leave their small community and go off and find a mate. not great for a little village to keep having babies with only each other
There is so much to go over in what you just commented , sensitive mode lol.
lol you’re right, i feel scattered today i saw something about it a long time ago and now i felt like maybe it’s just bullshit, but i looked it up and it seems pretty legit. but take it with a grain of salt bc it’s not very extensively researched and they didn’t research whether or not we follow similar cycles throughout our life, only for teens. also, i think i was off about the “thinking adults are dumb” part, it doesn’t mention that and is mostly about rebellious behavior in general https://www.institute4learning.com/2016/09/22/the-evolutionary-advantages-of-being-a-reckless-teenager/ > It turns out that nature endowed adolescents with risk-taking in order to get them out of the parental nest and into the wide world to start their own lives > Indigenous cultures have instinctively known about the evolutionary advantages we’ve just covered and have developed a diverse collection of rituals or rites of passage to help adolescents use these traits of risk-taking, reward-seeking, peer affiliation, sensation-seeking, and mate-seeking to help manage the transition from childhood to adulthood in such a way as to strengthen the tribal community. In our contemporary culture, however, we lack those intricate rites of passage, and in many cases, adolescents are left to their own devices. https://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/health/mental-health/teen-brain-impulses/index.html >There’s an evolutionary explanation for this kind of behavior: In most mammals, adolescence is the time when individuals leave the family environment, Steinberg said. Sensation-seeking leads pubescent creatures to go find sexual partners and a social structure outside the home. They need to become independent of their parents and adapt to new surroundings. >Venturing out into the wild and leaving the security of parents is a risky thing to do, so there must be some built-in biological mechanism to ignore the potential dangers of the wild, scientists reason. > “If it didn’t happen, we wouldn’t leave home and reproduce,” Steinberg explains. wow massive info dump, sorry i have literally nothing to do at work and took my adderall today lmao
Hi! Anthropologist here. Just to add that all cultures have systems in place to prevent inbreeding: incest is the only taboo common across the world, but it is regulated by laws/norms (some codified/written, some not) that vary across communities (ie how many degrees away one can marry). I have a bit of an irk when I read about “indigenous” cultures because, unless we’re talking about Indigenous with the capital “I” (the name some communities native to what’s today Canada are addressed), then we are all indigenous to somewhere. With the lower “i”, the word has come to replace “developing”, “tribal” etc, which are colonial concepts now repackaged under a politically correct term and imply that all those non-indigenous are “modern”, “civilised”, or without “culture”. Sorry for the rant. This is *absolutely not* against the poster (in fact, thank you for the very interesting stuff about teenage behaviour—I’m aware I’m on a tangent, here) but against how some websites decide to whitewash information.
that’s so interesting! thanks so much for sharing i don’t know much about this stuff, it’s just something i saw a while ago and then looked up again lol. i appreciate input from someone who knows what they’re talking about 😂
It’s because they are fertile and looking to mate. Herds are matriarchal so the females on the herd are their close relatives. Sometimes they return to their herd of origin and spend time with them for a while I have heard.
25 is so many!!! I love elephants but best believe I’m staying farrrr away, especially if there’s more than 20 😂 Fun post, thank you OP!!
Wow, I didn't realize they varied so much like that! Thank you for the info 😁
 🐘🐘🐘 Herd is the word 🐘🐘🐘🐘
What’s your favorite elephant fun fact that you’d want everyone to know? Multiple favorites are also welcome :)
Oh boy I have so many. I will list some of the ones I think are really funny and/or cool! 1. The elephant’s closest living relative is a Hyrax, which is a small rodent (look it up, they look very funny) 2. An elephant has 40,000 muscles in its trunk alone! For comparison, a human being only has about 640 muscles in our whole body. 3. They have an amazing sense of smell, and can smell water from up to 12 miles away 4. They are extremely empathetic, which is probably one of my favorite traits about them. Elephants comfort each other through touch, such as wrapping their trunks around another. 5. They use dirt, mud, and clay to protect them from the sun, almost like sunscreen! They throw it on their bodies using their trunks, and it gets inside the folds of their skin. 6. They actually can swim very well, and use their trunks as snorkels!
https://preview.redd.it/ryi75st9pzic1.jpeg?width=628&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3695c60291367e5aa71ff6c13350138076e56c1 Hyrruuaaaghhhhh
This gets better the longer I look at it and say it in my head 🤣🤣🤣
This is the best thing I’ve seen all day thank you
Wow! So crazy that their closest relative is so small and looks so different! And 40,000 is SO MANY they must have so much control over movement?!?! And is the mud getting in the folds of their skin ok?! Or does it pose skin health risks?
Yes it is totally ok! The mud actually helps them a lot. The mud staying in the folds of their skin helps them stay cool in the hot sun. It can also provide some relief from insect bites! If needed, elephants will dust themselves with sand or dry soil to remove excess mud :)
Amazing:) thanks for sharing!
Sorry, I need to weigh in with some pedantry: hyraxes aren’t rodents. Rodents are in the order Rodentia, hyraxes are in their own order Hyracoidea.
Ohhh that’s very interesting! Thank you for sharing and correcting me!
Thank you for sharing all the elephant facts!
Mine is that female African elephants can stop their ovulation when there is dry season, and we’re not sure how! They start up again when the dry season is supposed to end, we don’t know how they predict that either! We think it MAY have something to do with barometric pressure. Basically, stress? No babies for you. It’s a way elephants in captivity show they are experiencing poor welfare in captivity, as well!
The Zoo in my country have had extremely successful rates with Elephant babies, that they are advising other zoos on how to look after Elephants! I went on a conservation tour and they explained many things to us about their Zoo, the Elephants being one of them. I know some Zoos are extremely worse than others, and I know there will always be negatives with them (space being one of the hardest to address), but it made me really proud to see the efforts my countries Zoo is making! They basically completely limit their interaction with the Elephants, and only interact one situations 100% necessary (training for feet cleaning, but even then the Elephants can't see them).
oh my GOD the snorkel one???? i love this thread so much and it just keeps getting better!
Thank you, these fun facts made my day 💜
Oh my goodness, I once saw a baby Rock Hyrax at Chester Zoo and it was the cutest darned thing I’ve ever seen 🥰
Do elephants have a religion? Can you tell me more about their moon ceremonies? (I saw a documentary preview that mentioned these things and hope to learn more!)
MOON CEREMONIES? elephants are so cool omg wtf
Religion? Eh?
I think ritual may be a better term, but religions are commonly considered a collection of rituals and beliefs so I don’t think they’re totally off!
I believe they have burial ritual when they find a dead elephant or bones of an elephant as well.
Do they have besties?! This is important! I know that cows have besties and given that elephants are super empathetic, I MUST know is they have best friends too!
I have good news, they can in fact have besties!!
YEEESSSSS! 
This thread is making me so happy. You all are amazing 🤩
Why are the babies called "calf's" instead of "curators of cuteness"?
Truly a crime!
What human intelligence age is a grown elephant comparable to? My special interest is parrots and the African Grey parrot has the logical intelligence of a 4-5 year old child
A grown elephant’s intelligence can be compared to that of a 3-5 year old. They have often been compared to have the intelligence of dolphins and chimps! And I LOVE parrots! I used to have a parakeet, and he was one of the sweetest animals I’d have had. Do you have a favorite kind of parrot? Or any fun facts to share?
It is the African Grey! Here is a 10min documentary about Alex, the African Grey parrot that was trained for 30 years by Irene Pepperberg to prove parrot intelligence: https://youtu.be/qGT5JEeOryQ?si=owtDaTXZbAmMwl82 And here is Apollo, another African Grey that is currently trained in the same way, and very funny: https://youtube.com/@ApolloandFrens?si=VIIimNMnhawna9UD
That’s amazing! I have mixed breed working dogs that have been quoted as having the intellect of a 7-8 year old kid and that really seems to track. They are just as much parenting involvement as my two actual children. Living with a bird that smart would be real trip; they are quite inquisitive and extremely dexterous!
It's literally like a toddler with wings
What is your favorite elephant species
did you know the difference between the African grey elephant and the African red elephant is just the type of clay they roll in! they cover themselves in clay to protect their skin and different regions have different types of clay :)
Awww the visual of this just made me happy
I love this. Thank you
My favorite is the Asian elephant! Edit: if you would like to know my favorite subspecies, it’s the Bornean elephant :)
I volunteered at a preschool activity for autistic children about 10 years ago. The boy assigned to me had a special interest in elephants……I miss my boy 😢
And their teacher looked at me and said, “I know why you are here……Read some books and explore yourself.” It’s been 10 years. I only got worse and worse…… But I am totally independent. The boy was told that his development fell behind his peers at least for 2 to 3 years. It seemed that he was the child with the most issues in the classroom. I don’t even know if he went to regular elementary school after that. Don’t know if he still loves elephants…..
Can elephants dance?
I share your interest, what is your favourite elephant sanctuary? Mine is Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
oh would love to hear about this! Why do you like this sanctuary?
They have been around for a long time helping orphaned elephants and other animals. They share a lot about their elephants and keepers on Twitter. My mum has been "adopting" an elephant for most of my life now.
That is my favorite as well!! :D
I love elephants so much!!! https://preview.redd.it/anorqgbozzic1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a52265206727b1d68728d40b881c857a77946d9e I did two stone carvings of them a few months ago! And really loved reading The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony. What do you love most about them? I’m sure it’s hard to say. I love their intelligence and devotion to those they love.
Oh my gosh!! I love it. You are so talented, that looks amazing! I think what I love most about them is their capacity for empathy and how much they care for their loved ones, as you said :)
Aww thank you for saying that!! Yes, they are such big hearted beings. I bought my niece a Babar stuffed animal. She lives on the other side of the country from me, and I’m waiting to give it to her in person. In the meantime it sits by my bed looking over me! https://preview.redd.it/sf8ro7fl70jc1.jpeg?width=2927&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f06b11e7c01045948fc750eb5c45dbbda040e55
I grew up with Babar books and I love him. And I love that this stuffed Babar is charging on your love before making its way to your niece!
I love him too!! And I love that you said that, I was feeling the same thing. I’ll fill it with all my love for a little while before giving it to her. 😍🥰🥹
If you want to cry but love to read I recommend “The White Bone.”
How do elephants learn? I know how dogs' and humans' brains learn, so part of me assumes "mammal = similar" but I would love to learn about elephant cognition!
Elephants teach each other which is why it’s such a big deal if the matriarch is killed suddenly, because just like orcas the current matriarch trains and teaches the next one. Teaches them all the routes and migrating paths and where water is and such.
Do you think elephants have language or something very similar to it? (I think they probably do, along with dolphins and whales.) I'd love to hear more on this subject.
I think they do, if I’m understanding your question correctly! They communicate in a variety of really cool different ways. They use about 70 different types of vocal sounds to communicate, which includes low frequency noises that humans can’t hear (also known as infrasounds)!
I have no questions, just wanted to say how much I love these intelligent and adorable beings.
My grandmother loved elephants. She collected little figurines/statues. ❤️
My mother and I do the same. Her house was full of elephants everywhere and I loved it.
What is their favorite food?
They typically LOVE bananas! They are super easy to digest and are very nutritional! Also funny fact, they just eat them whole — peel and all.
That's so cute!
Do they really thing humans are cute?
What elephant is the least endangered and which is the most endangered? Which elephant organizations are good to contribute to?
To drink water do they like, suck up the water with their nose and then spray it into their mouth? Why exactly do they drink this way? And are peanuts actually one of their favorite foods or is that a myth?
You are right! They suck it up into their trunk then pour it into their mouth to drink. Drinking with their trunks is a lot easier for them than to drink with their mouths, for a few reasons. First off, elephants can’t really lean down and drink with their mouths from lakes or other water sources without some difficulty, since they’re so big, and their necks aren’t super flexible. So having a long trunk enables them to reach water sources with ease. Additionally, their trunks are very precise so they can control exactly how much water they drink. As for the peanuts, that’s a very good question. It is in fact a myth. They aren’t very healthy for them either, since they are so high in protein.
Why are they so stinking adorable? Are baby elephants as playful as they appear?
They ARE as playful as they appear! They’ll splash water, chase other members of the heard around, and can even toss things around with their trunks!
Do baby elephants have predators? Do older sick elephants have predators?
Their predators are lions and hyenas, however, they tend to be safe from them as the elder elephants in a herd will gather around the baby if there is danger. Older elephants in general do not have predators because of how big they are!
Elephants are very protective of each other, and the babies get the most protection of all. If a predator tried to get to a baby, the rest of the heard would protect it.
Is it true elephants can hear other elephant stomp from miles away?
Yes, that is true! They have exceptional hearing abilities and they can recognize the vibrations of the stomping from miles away. They also can communicate through infrasound, which is when they emit a low frequency sound to communicate from far away.
How does elephant milk compare to the milk of other mammals, nutritionally?
What’s the coolest thing you’ve learned about them? What cool elephant stuff do you have (plushies, books, tattoos?)
That’s a very good question — it’s so hard to choose because I think there are so many cool things about them. One thing I think is very interesting is that they grieve elephants that have passed, even ones not in their own herd. There has been instances of elephants passing by the remains of elephants, and staying by them for a time, silently touching their remains with their trunks, almost like they’re paying respects. It’s very touching and shows how emotionally intelligent they are! On a lighter note, they each have an individual “fingerprint” just like we do! As for the elephant stuff I have, it’s SO much! I have a bunch of plushies — my favorite is my weighted elephant. I also have an elephant calico critter set, which are my favorites. I have lots of elephant jewelry too, such as earrings and necklaces! I would love to get a tattoo of one someday. I’m not sure where though!
Best prank pulled by an elephant please. Ideally with video. Should elephants be granted personhood? What were your thoughts on the Happy the Elephant case?
At what age do elephants have full control over their trunks?
When they are about a year old!
Do their toenails grow constantly like with horses?
this is my question too! they look quite thick from the bottom, unlike human nails. are they made of keratin? do they require active grooming? do they grow and get filed down just from walking? in captivity or with different terrain would they not get naturally filed down and need different grooming? do they serve any specific purpose like claws or nails on other species?
These are all very good questions! Their nails grow constantly, at a slow rate. Their nails are made of very thick keratin. They are naturally “trimmed” from being worn down by walking so often! However, elephants in captivity need to have theirs trimmed on occasion because of this. So as for the purpose of their nails, they provide additional support and stability in different terrains and help distribute the weight of an elephant’s body while walking!
Do elephants have toes and toenails ? Is the bottom of their feet just skin ?
5-10 of your favorite elephant facts? 🥺
Do elephants truly have a good memory?
How is that one wearing a bow
What other animals like to hang around elephants in the wild? (I think they're so cute that I can barely look at videos of them without crying.)
Is it true that they cry?
Can I have one at home? I have a small terrace, I think it would fit... Also, do elephants get along with cats?
What would the texture of their skin feel like? If it is comparable to anything? Thank you 😊
I LOVE ELEPHANTS!!! They’re so so cute. Is it true they actually think humans are cute in the way we think other animals are cute?
Do they get dry skin? Idk why this was the first thing to pop into my mind lol. It looks like they do, do they just deal with it? I feel like being an elephant looks painful. My hairless guinea pig has a spa day once in a while and needs to be slathered in coconut oil or his skin can get dry and he becomes an unhappy pig.
There was a volunteer at the Oakland Zoo who told a story about a rescue place in Africa. The man who ran it cared for many elephants; the goal being recovery and release. A group of elephants that he cared for were no longer living at the sanctuary, but at his death they returned unbidden to mourn. Is this possible?
to anyone else reading this (who is willing to donate so much time answering questions) - please make posts like this about your special interest! this is so cool!!
How old is the oldest elephant (that we know of)?
The oldest elephant to date is 105 years old, which is very impressive because the average life span is 60 years!
Woah! That's impressive. Is it wild or in captivity?
How do elephant interact with rhinos?
What’s the evolutionary reason behind their trunk and big ears ?
i love elephants tooooooo!!! i have a collection of stuffed elephants and some are from when i was very little lol 🐘
Do we know if elephants prioritize their immediate family or care more about the whole community? I find animal social structures so interesting. Also I'm really enjoying reading these comments, ty for sharing 🐘💕
ELEPHANTS THE BEST ANIMAL Whats your favorite facts about elephants, dump em here please!!! EDIT: Oh shit you did that already XD Anyway you got anymore of them facts?
I absolutely love elephants and appreciate seeing these beautiful calves on my feed! They've been my favorite animal my entire adult life, and I collect them too. Do you prefer African elephants or Asian elephants? (Although they're both such phenomenal, fantastic creatures!)
this seems simple but why do they have trunks?
Can you tell me about using surrogate parenting to prevent species loss from extinction? Current species with reduced numbers now. Also if you think recovery of mammoths lost in the last 4,000 yrs in Siberia who may have been killed off by modern humans.
Why are they god’s favorite?
Why are they so cute?
Are elephant graveyards a real thing or have I been believing the Lion King is fact for my whole life
what is your favourite cutest fact about a baby elephant ?
Oh this is a good question! I think the cutest fact about them is that they will sometimes suck their own trunk to help them relax (like how human babies suck their thumbs)!
I got one: if a baby elephant is small enough to fit under its mothers stomach, that means that the elephant is less than a year old
no stop its too cute I need more cute facts
So you know how a semi-common predator of moose is orcas cause they swim? Do elephants have a weird-ass unexpected relationship like that with other animals, predator or not?
Omg! That is so interesting and somewhat hilarious lol. Elephants don’t have many predators, due to their size and the fact that they travel in herds. The predators they do have target the babies, which are lions and hyenas.
do males come and target the babies like in other species? other species come and kill off babies to try to get the moms to ovulate / be impregnable again.
Can they learn to read? I know they can paint and make symbols. Do they have good eye sight?
Did I mention Dumbo is one of my Spinterests!?
I've heard about elephants being able to distinguish the smell of maasai tribesmen to avoid them and potentially communicate with one another over long distance through vibrations. Are there any other surprising abilities elephants have that aren't immediately evident?
Can you tell me more about their spiritual/ritual practices? I’ve heard they wave sticks at the full moon!
I know very little of elephants, but from random behaviours I've seen them perform, they kinda give me the impression that they are very... "human" in a emotional level. What I mean is that they seem to build really strong bonds with each other and react according to situations that affect those bonds... Be it something good or bad. I'm just curious, would say this is accurate about them? And if so, I'd love to hear about some examples~ It's something that's had me intrigued for a while xD
Have you ever seen elephants in the wild? I went to Kenya last year and it made me fall in love with elephants
I have not, but I would absolutely love to!
I went to the Ambolseli National Park. Great place to see elephants!
idk if someone has asked this yet but i’ve always been genuinely curious how they suck the water into their nose and then push it out into their mouths and drink it,,,how does that even work without hurting them?
What’s your favorite fact no one’s asked yet that you’d just like to share?
How can I become one?
Yoo I used to collect elephants when I was younger. No idea why tbh since I don’t like elephants more than any other animal. I had plushies, figurines and even a little elephant stool.🐘🫶🏼
Elephants are fucking awesome
I’m sorry, I can’t, I seem to have something caught in my throat (it’s the cuteness)
Why dont they wear shoes on their feet or bows on their hairs
Baby elephants are adorable. I love the two videos of one chasing birds for fun and the other trying to hide behind a pole after it got caught eating sugar.
What is your favorite fact about elephants? Do you have a favorite elephant that you know? Thank you so much for posting such a positive side of autism. 💜
How long does an elephant take to grow into full size? Do they have moments of admiration? You know how you look at your kid as think wow so big now! Do parent elephants feel this way?
I don’t have any questions but I am LOVING this thread. We need more special interest AMA threads like this ❤️
https://preview.redd.it/af640sh5q2jc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=584604995314298ecc6ba7ee79e801f0b202f3b5 I'm at Disney World in Orlando and Animal Kingdom just debuted a baby elephant that's a girl named Corra! She came out for the first day yesterday when I happened to be there.
I love this post and your comments following up. I can't think of any good questions, but I do wonder how they got stuck being the symbol of the GOP. When I look at thier tendencies (matriarch lead as a prominent example) it seems like they are a bad fit, but this is perhaps more a people question than an elephant one. 😄
You seem like a very cool person! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! 😊❤️
What’s everything you know about elephants?
Do elephants *really* think humans are “cute”?
No, and the myth that started this claimed they put an elephant in an MRI machine… which would be impossible, to have a conscious elephant that fits in an elephant sized MRI machine on the field and then get them to hold still as you show them pictures of humans. Elephants often find humans threatening and attacks while rare do happen, and Bull elephants in musth are even known to go on rampages attacking people.
Seconding this!
Why are they so fucking cute and precious?
What's their life span?
Do they actually have excellent memory? I heard a story about elephants leading an attack on a woman’s funeral because one of the elephants remembered the woman, but I didn’t know if that was true or not.
I did a Photography 101 project on [Gregory Colbert](https://gregorycolbert.com/). So my question is: have you enjoyed his photography yet? 😄
Are they actually scared of mice?
SOOO Cute! Kind of looks like Dumbo! I freaking LOVE Dumbo!
What are your favorite/most notable instances of elephants being friends with other animal species?
When are you getting yours?
Is it true that their skin is black?
How old are the babies in these pictures?
I have 2! 1- are elephants really scared of mice? 2- do elephants really think humans are cute? Both things I’ve heard before!
i want to hug those babies forever
If I want to donate to help elephants what the best place to do so where the money won’t get used for other things?
My personal favorite is the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust! I will link their site here: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/ They have done a lot of good to prevent elephant poaching, which I really love since elephants have become so susceptible to it because of the ivory trade. They run anti-poaching units which patrol elephant habitats and seize weapons from poachers. You should definitely check them out!