Which creature can sneak
up on you because under ‘bell-bottom trousers’ it walks on tip-toe?
Well, something snuck
up on you junior and without that trunk you’re doomed - you’ll need it to:
·
greet
mum & caress other elephants· feed on vegetation
· drink over 6 litres of water in one shot
· pick up a pin or a log
· breathe by snorkel, 2 metres under water
· smell
· sense vibration
· warn, threaten & trumpet
· dig for water…….but not fish for crocs!
That’s a pretty handy
muscle, wouldn’t you say?
No,
no, no….that’s not just 1 muscle but 150,000 MUSCLE BUNDLES!
That simple trunk is
incredibly complex, versatile, vital, and unique so why is this muscular design
omitted from textbooks?
Photo credit: Johan
Opperman / ra-re.org
The elephant, with its amazing trunk and baggy skin, is always a favourite at the circus, zoo or safari so we just had to check it out. Bother me it turns out that somebody has very patiently counted those muscle bundles - all 150,000 of them. Next we discover it walks on tip-toe! Why are these stunning facts kept hidden under baggy skin?
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