It is no surprise that many people love elephants. There are many things to love about these animals. A Stanford University Medical School assistant professor, Caitlin O’Connell Rodwells, states that people are drawn to elephants because they are caring, intelligent and are able to form bonds. 

For whichever reason you love elephants, you can express your love by saving them from going extinct. Currently, African elephants are listed as vulnerable and Asian elephants are listed as endangered. Educating others about why elephants are essential is a great way to save elephants. 

Our team wants to share some reasons to love and support elephants so you can share them with your family and friends. 

Elephants live in families. 

Family is important to elephants. These large mammals live in groups called herds. A herd consists of a matriarch elephant, her daughters and the daughters’ offspring. The matriarch elephant is normally the oldest and strongest female elephant. She influences the elephants and keeps herds safe from danger. 

You are probably wondering, what about the male elephants? The male elephants (bull elephants) leave their mother’s herd in their teens. Typically, they form small groups with other bachelors. Bull elephants migrate from one herd to another to mate with female elephants. 

Baby elephants suck their trunks. 

Baby elephants (calves) are born with a strong sucking reflex. This reflex helps them instinctively know how to drink their mother’s milk. Just like human newborn babies suck their thumbs, elephant calves tend to suck their trunks. This helps provide comfort to the elephant calves like a pacifier would help a human baby. 

Elephants hug each other. 

Hugs are a way to comfort or show someone you care. Just like humans, elephants hug their friends and family to comfort them. However, they do not embrace as humans do. Elephants hug each other by wrapping their trunks around each other and putting their trunks in each other’s mouths. Elephants do know when another elephant is feeling sad, scared or upset. 

Elephants love skincare. 

Do not let the wrinkles of an elephant fool you. This large land mammal does take care of its skin. An elephant’s skin has wrinkles and cracks on their skin to keep them cool. Elephants do not sweat. In order to stay cool, elephants roll in mud or bathe in water to trap the moisture in their skin. The mud also works as a sunscreen and keeps parasites away. 

Elephants help the environment. 

Elephants do more than just look cute. They play a key role in their ecosystems. The diet of an elephant consists of plants, fruits and bark. As they move across the savannah and forests in search of food, they help disperse seeds through their dung. An elephant’s dung acts as a fertilizer for the seeds and helps them grow. This helps create new food and homes for animals. 

Support elephants

It is never too late to support elephants! Join our “Herd of Heroes,” where you can make a monthly donation to help us continue our research to improve fertility rates of zoo elephants. We also sell t-shirts, and all proceeds help fund our research! Shop online here!