South Brunswick Teen Zone: Facts Page: 12 Facts about Elephants from Varshiini Ramesh

Facts Page: 12 Facts about Elephants

Elephants are the world’s largest land animal. On average, males can be up to 3 meters tall and they can weigh up to 6 tonnes.
An elephant’s tusks are actually their teeth. Tusks first appear for elephants when they are around 2 years old and they continue to grow throughout the rest of their lives. Tusks are used for feeding themselves, or as a defense when fighting.
Calves can stand within 20 minutes of birth, and they can walk within an hour.
Elephants need upto 150 kg of food per day, so they are always eating.
An elephant’s trunk weighs around 400 lbs and it contains about 100,000 different muscles.
Elephants have highly developed brains, and they have the largest brains compared to other animals in the world.
Elephants have a very slow pulse rate which is around 27 bpm.
Elephants can never forget; they have a strong memory power.
Elephants have thick skin; in most places, their skin is 2.5 cm thick. Elephants keep their skin clean by taking regular dust and mud baths.
Asian elephants have 5 toenails on the front feet and 4 toenails on the back feet, while African elephants have 4 toenails on the front feet and 3 toenails on the back feet.
Baby elephants have short hair all over their bodies, but the growth of the short hair reduces as they grow older.
Elephants can give birth until they’re 50 years old, and their lifespan is 60-70 years old.

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South Brunswick Teen Zone