What do Elephants Eat

The Indians worship elephants, as one of the very powerful and highly adored Hindu gods, Ganesh, for he had the head of an elephant. Elephants are easily recognizable, thanks to their big ears and long trunks. An interesting fact about elephants is that, in spite of their weight (which is a lot), they can be very fast and swift. In the forest, healthy adult elephants are the only animals, that even the lions will think more than just twice, before attacking.

What do Elephants Eat?

Elephants are herbivores. This, obviously, means that the elephants food consists of leaves, twigs, branches, grass, roots, seeds, fruits and flowers. However, 50% of elephant diet is leaves and the other 50% is supplemented with the other items.

Oddly, elephants cannot digest around 60% of their food. It is due to the lack of digestive ability, that this 60% of their food intake is released from the body, undigested.

More about Elephant Habitat

There are only 3 species of elephants still surviving - the African bush elephants, the African forest elephants and the Asian or Indian elephants. In fact, there are many distinct facts about African elephants that could reveal the difference between the African bush and the African forest elephants. All the others are part of the extinct animals lists. Some species are extinct since the last ice age. Elephants are mainly threatened by human invasion and poaching. It is due to the loss of habitat, that has mainly caused further reduction in its numbers. Elephants require huge areas of forest land, so that they can crash around the place and take down trees for their food. They then leave the place and come back once it is re-vegetated.

Due to the lack of availability of these large land areas, several conflicts occur between human beings and elephants. These conflicts lead to the loss of lives on both sides, and more elephants, as compared to humans, lose their lives.

Interesting and Worth Knowing Elephant Facts

• Elephants have a very good memory. They can remember incidences for their entire life and recall them in an instant. Like they say, "elephants never forget"!
• Elephant trunks are multipurpose in nature. Elephants use their trunks for respiration, smelling, hearing via vibrations and as a hand. Often, elephants are also seen rubbing their eyes or grabbing food with their trunks.
• Elephants are great as warring animals. They have high energy levels and due to their weight and size, they can prove to be very useful in warfare. In fact, in the Indian subcontinent, China and Persia, elephants were used as the king's rides. It is a known fact, that elephants in their element, can cause major damage to infantry and cavalry horses highly fear them.
• Elephants have a very bad temper. In their anger, they can cause massive destruction. Sometimes, elephants can end up losing their sanity due to their extremely high temper.
• Elephants uproot trees, and this leads to growth of new trees and more vegetation. In dry seasons, they use their tusks to dig holes and expose underground water. Quite environment friendly, aren't they?
• Elephant teeth don't grow vertically from the gum. In fact, they grow from the back end of the jaw and get pushed forward as new teeth grow. When they come right up front, they fall off. Elephants have around 5 or 6 cycles for teeth generation.
• Elephants mostly die due to starvation. When really old, elephants do not have teeth. As such, they cannot eat and starve to death.
• An elephant's brain weighs around 5 kgs. They are extremely wise and intelligent. In fact, their intelligence can be compared to that of primates. They can feel grief, make music, play with and use tools. They have very high altruistic emotions and infant care (even if it is not their own infant) abilities, as well.
• Elephants share the same ancestry as mammoths. In fact, many believe that the evolution of elephants has been from mammoths

Wow! Did you know that elephants are so interesting? They are a classic example of creatures with a simple diet and extraordinary abilities. I hope you now, know, what do elephants eat. This is where I sign off!!