As bizarre as it may sound, elephants hear through their feet because they can detect low frequency sounds using them! Just like Marvel’s Daredevil but larger and greyer.
Elephants are extremely well known and widely beloved animals. Despite this, there’s a lot of interesting facts about elephants that many people don’t know.
The focus of this blog is that they are able to detect low frequency sounds using their feet. Incredibly, this allows them to sense movements of animals around 20 miles away. Now of course, this isn’t the most precise tool. They can’t pinpoint the exact location of an animal using their giant stompers. That being said, for all intents and purposes, elephants hear through their feet!
An elephant’s feet are flat and each heel has big pads on it. These act as shock absorbers which allow them to move about quietly; that way less predators can hear elephants. Their predators are all carnivores such as lions, hyenas and crocodiles. Although, their predators do mostly attack young, sick or injured elephants.
An elephant’s legs are straighter than most animals and this helps them support their mighty weight. Considering that elephants can weigh thousands of kilograms, this is a critical adaptation. And since elephants walk massive distances every day, it’s all the more necessary to their survival.
Other interesting elephant facts
So now that we’ve established that elephants hear with their feet, let’s talk about some other interesting facts about elephants.
Elephants are incredibly intelligent animals. Not only socially and emotionally (which you can read about in this previous blog post from Animal Club), they also are one of only a handful of animals to exhibit self awareness. More specifically, they are able to recognize that a mirror shows a reflection of themselves, not another animal entirely. This is incredibly advanced cognition, and goes to show the magnificence of these animals.
I’d be remiss not to mention elephant’s trunks, which are capable of a tremendous amount of things. They use them to grasp things, drink, eat etc. and also to do a sort of hand holding, once again exhibiting their excellent social intelligence. To read more about elephant trunks, check out this other previous blog from Animal Club (what can i say, i love elephants!).
Another iconic feature of an elephant is its ears. These can be used like a fan, helping elephants to regulate their temperature in the sweltering climates they are found in. They also use their ears to express themselves, flapping them when feeling emotions like excitement or agitation. Not to keep repeating myself, but this once AGAIN show how socially and emotionally intelligent elephants are!
Elephants are not only astoundingly intelligent and well adapted to their environments, they are also record holders. African elephants hold the status of largest land animal on earth. This is thanks to their average weight of between 5,000 to 14,000 pounds and an average height of between 2.5 and 4 metres!
I hope reading this blog has taught you a bit more about elephants and given you not only a better understanding, but a better appreciation for these magnificent creatures. I know that researching it has certainly done that for me.
Extra information
Animal-Club provides animal parties or animal handling workshops. You will be able to see, learn and interact with many wonderful animals with the help of our presenters. Our mobile zoo has many friendly animals such as rabbits, tarantulas, geckos, vinegaroons and more, perfect for an animal party. We can also , come over to your school for an animal school visit or arrange for an animal workshop with us where the children can learn about looking after animals and animal behaviour, and have fun too.