Ten (10) Must See Facts About The Elephant

Elephants are large mammals with two recognized species,
African Elephant (loxodanta africana) and Asian Elephant (elephas maximus).

Here are ten interesting facts about the Elephant you probably didn't know.

1. Male African elephants are the largest existing terrestrial animals that can reach a height of 4m (13ft) and can weigh 7,000kg.
2. Elephants can live up to 70 years, a lifespan almost the same average as man.
3. The heart of an elephant weighs 12-21 kg and beats approximately 30 times per minute.
4. The brain of an elephant weighs 4.5-5.5 kg compared to 1.6kg for a human brain. An birth, an elephant's brain already weighs 30-40% of its adult weight.
5. Elephants usually has 26 teeth and unlike other mammals which grows baby teeth and then replace them with a single permanent teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their lives.
6. The skeleton of an elephant is made up of 326-351 bones. African elephants have 21 pairs of rib while Asian elephants have 19 or 20 pairs.
7. With it's trunk, an elephant can lift up to 350kg, reach items at 7m (23ft) while also an adult Asian elephant is capable of holding 8.5 litres of water in it'd trunk.
8. African elephants can consume as much as 150kg of food and 40l of water in a day.
9. There were 13,000 - 16,500 working elephants employed in Asia as at 2000. They perform tasks such as pulling wagons, hauling loads into remote areas, moving logs into trucks and transporting tourists around national parks.
10. Elephants are capable swimmers.They have been recorded swimming for up to six hours without touching the bottom.

Now you obviously didn't know about those,right?. Feel free to share.