An Elephant’s Trunk

The trunk of an elephant is a marvel of biology!

Composed of 140 kilograms of flesh, fat, nerves, connective tissue and muscle, the trunk of an elephant is usually around 7 feet long, and can hold up to 12 litres of water at a time.

Elephants use their trunks to eat and drink, smell and to communicate with one another. They also use them as snorkels and to bat away potential threats. Using their trunks, elephants can detect water up to 19km away!

How strong is an elephant trunk?

There are around 40,000 muscles in an elephant’s trunk. To put that into conteThe four, large, external muscles that run along the top, side and bottom of the trunk help the elephant to control its main movements.

An elephant can use its trunk to move things that weigh over 300 kilograms!

Although an elephant’s trunk can be used to break large branches off trees and dig deep into the ground for water, they are also incredibly dextrous.

Elephants can break the shells of monkey nuts without damaging the nut inside, and pick up a single blade of grass. It can take elephant calves a number of years to master the full capabilities of their trunk!

The Future for Elephants

Elephants are classified as an endangered species. Once common throughout Asia and Africa, elephants now face extinction at the hands of humans. Their greatest threats are illegal poaching for the ivory trade and habitat loss.

To save our elephants, we need to support organisations such as the WWF and Save the Elephants. These important charities perform vital conservation work for elephants around the globe.

We all need to work together to save our elephants from extinction at the hands of humans!