Here are 9 unique facts about elephants, giant animals with feelings. A large body, with a long trunk is the main characteristic of elephants. This animal is quite familiar to human ears, many of us have even seen this giant animal in person, be it at the zoo, circus, or see them in their natural habitat.
Currently, there are only two species of elephant, namely the African elephant and the Asian elephant. Elephants are extraordinary animals. Not only because of their large body weight but also because they are very sensitive animals like humans!
1. The elephant family is led by a female
Unlike other herds of animals, the elephant family is actually led by a female. Make no mistake, not just any female can be a herd leader. The leaders chosen are those who are the oldest, because the older a female elephant, the stronger her influence in a herd.
In one elephant family you will never find an adult male elephant, because male elephants will only live with the group for 15 years before separating from their mother.
2. Elephants only need 4 hours of sleep
Elephants are big, but they are not lazy. While it takes us 8 hours to sleep, an elephant only sleeps 4 hours a night. For elephants, a good night's sleep is not easy. They rarely sleep lying down and snore. Instead of sleeping soundly, most elephants spend their rest time sleeping standing up.
3. But they spend 16 hours of their time eating
An African elephant weighs between 4,000 and 7,000 kg. While the Asian elephant weighs 3,000 to 5,000 kg. Because of its super large size, it is not surprising that an elephant eats in large quantities. There is no exact measure of how many kilograms of food they can eat, but an elephant can spend 16 hours of its time just eating.
4. Don't get me wrong, elephants have good memories too
In addition to its large body, the elephant's brain is also large. An adult elephant has a brain weighing 5.4 kg. With such a heavy brain, they also have a good memory and are even classified as intelligent animals. An elephant can remember an elephant or a human even though they haven't seen each other in years. Not only that, when given a mirror, elephants also recognize their own reflection.
5. Elephants are sensitive animals
Elephants may have big bodies but just like humans, elephants also have feelings. When a female gives birth, other elephants will welcome their new member happily and work hand in hand in looking after the little one.
They also worry when other elephants get sick, even crying when one of the herd dies. So sad, a group of elephants will hug and take the time to stare at their dead friend for several hours and even try to cover the poor elephant with soil and plants before leaving.
6. Female elephant is pregnant for almost 2 years
Pregnant for 9 months is not an easy thing for women. But when compared to humans, 9 months is nothing for elephants. A female elephant only has a fertile period for a few days. Even though they only have a few days to mate, a female elephant must spend a very long gestation period of around 22 months to finally give birth to a baby elephant into the world.
7. Believe it or not, elephants are actually good at swimming
Most of us may think, elephants will immediately drown as soon as they enter the water. Their bodies are big, but make no mistake about their big bodies, they are actually very good swimmers. When in the water, elephants are able to swim and even use their trunks to dive. Cool?
8. The elephant uses its trunk to shake hands
Elephants are quite friendly animals. Uniquely, just like humans, elephants also always greet and even shake hands when they meet foreign elephants who are not from their group. Of course they didn't actually lift one of their legs and shake hands, but instead linked their trunks together. They even let out a low rumble as a way of saying "hello".
9. Elephant skin can also get sunburned
Not only humans who need sunscreen or sunblock to protect their skin from the sun, but also elephants. Elephant skin is a little sensitive and can be burned by ultraviolet rays. So that this does not happen, the elephants always try to find a shady place to rest. They are also diligent in taking care of their skin by diligently "smearing" mud on their skin using their trunks.
