largest living land animals in the world
an average adult drinks between 180 and 270 liters of water a day and eats about
200 kilograms of food most of it vegetation because of their enormous
appetite and the fact that they only digest 44 percent of what they eat
elephants need to ingest a wide variety of food
elephants feed for 12 to 18 hours a day and they do it with the help of their
dexterous trunks
an elephant's trunk is a fusion of the nose and upper lip with more than 40,000
muscles divided into as many as a hundred and fifty thousand muscle units
compare that with our human body which contains a paltry 639 muscles and you
get an idea of just how intricate this appendage is it's the most versatile
tool used for breathing smelling touching and hugging producing sound or
lifting a little calf out of the wall
baby elephants have to learn patiently how to use their trunks elephants mostly
eat grass
but they also go for tree leaves as well as branches shoots shrubs flowers or
wild fruits
but if the weather turns dry and vegetation dies back they get more
creative
balancing on two legs this elephant shows his skills and body control to get
a good meal
instead of simply shaking the tree trunk and catching leaves and fruits when they
fall he stretches himself to his full height
to pluck everything from the tree and get at the pods leaves and bark so
nothing is wasted
elephants are social animals if one of the herd isn't tall enough they share in
the dry season elephants really do follow their nose their sense of smell
is so powerful that they can sense water from 20 kilometers away even if it's a
small amount or if it's buried underground about 1 meter down this
elephant finds water
he siphons off the sandy sludge
and leaves a hole with fresh clear water
when the elephants are done other animals come to take advantage of
whatever is left behind if a drought has lasted for a long time
a herd will sometimes migrate to other areas where water is more plentiful and
they pass this knowledge down from generation to generation
thanks to their superb memories they'll remember the locations of water sources
for their whole lives another key to survival
despite their extraordinary skills the elephants of Zimbabwe are an immense
danger all we can do now is hope that the drought will come to an end soon