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Often, our Special Agents answer questions that are so intriguing that they are inclined to do further research. So here is our Agents choice for question of the day:

Q:  Can elephants swim?
A:  Like all mammals, elephants can swim. Elephants move all four legs to swim. Their big body provides enough flotation while the trunk acts like a snorkel.

Know More:

Elephants are the largest living land animals, with adults sometimes weighing six tons or more. Of the two species, the African elephant is larger and more plentiful than the Asian elephant but both are threatened by shrinking living space and poaching for the ivory trade.

Modern elephants are the last survivors of the old and varied “trunked” family of mammals that once ranged the entire planet. These heirs of such mighty creatures as the extinct mastodon and mammoth occupy a unique place in their habitat in Africa and Asia.

Elephants…more “green” than gray?

As huge and powerful consumers, elephants are considered to be a keystone species in their environment, affecting biodiversity in the regions they inhabit. They open up areas of forest where light-dependent plants can take hold, for example, creating habitat for grazing animals. Such elephant roadways also act as fire breaks or drainage conduits and are littered with partially digested, ready-to-germinate seeds conveniently fertilized in elephant dung. The wells elephants dig in search of water are used by virtually all other wildlife in a given region, particularly during periods of drought.

On the other hand, elephant activity can also be seen as destructive, particularly under the pressures of human landscape transformation that force the animals into smaller areas. As habitat shrinks, their voracious appetite can bring them more frequently into conflict with people.

Six tons of fun

Adult male savannah elephants native to Africa are the largest land mammals in the world, weighing about 12,000 pounds and standing roughly 10 feet tall at the shoulder. Smaller forest elephants weigh approx. 10,000 pounds at most, and unlike savannah elephants’ curved tusks, forest dwellers’ are small and straight, designed for negotiating routes through dense foliage.

Mud…sunscreen for elephants

Both elephants do possess the same tough hide (the Latin name for elephant is “pachyderma” or “thick-skinned”). But while their skin may be durable, elephants still need protection from insects and the hot African sun. Wallowing in a mud bath cools down an elephant as well as provides an extra layer of cover.

Elephants typically reach puberty at thirteen or fourteen years of age. They can have offspring up until they are around fifty years old and they may live seventy years or possibly more.

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Source: http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/elephant

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/elephants/