African Elephant - 8 Interesting Facts

The elephant is one of the most unusual creatures that God made. The elephant's trunk makes him most unique. It is used not only for drinking and bathing but for smelling, breathing, feeling, and grabbing food. At the end of the trunk there is a "finger" for picking up things, such as a berry or even a branch. Elephants also use their trunk as a snorkel when crossing deep rivers. They snack on grass, fruit, leaves, branches, bark, and twigs. Because they are so large and because about 60 percent of what they eat passes through without being digested, elephants spend about 16 hours a day searching for nearly 350 pounds of food. They drink about 18 gallons of water a day and can live up to 60 years.
African elephant ears are much larger as compared to their Asian cousins, and some say the ears are shaped like the African continent
African elephants are less hairy than their Asian counterparts (duh!)
The trunk of an adult African elephant is about 7 feet long (longer than Michael Jordan)
The trunk is said to be capable of killing a lion
The lifespan of an African elephant out in the wild is about 60 years
When drinking water, it will suck in as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk and blows it down its throat.

The foot of an elephant is spongy at the bottom and has 4 or 5 toenails. The pad absorbs the impact at it strides along
An elephant thick skin looks tough but its actually sensitive and the animal keeps itself free from pests by rolling in mud and flinging dust on itself. This also helps block the harmful UV light rays from the sun.

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