The most distinguishable and unique features of the elephant is its trunk. It is the elephant’s most conspicuous body part, and also the mostly used part of the elephant. Strangely, if you were to look at the elephant’s skeleton, you would never realise elephant had a trunk since this massive appendage does not have a single bone!
The elephant’s trunk is a fusion of the nose and upper lip. It is the elephant's most versatile tool. An adult African elephant's trunk is about 6 to 8 feet long (taller than most of us) and has a diameter of about 15 centimetres at the tip, with nostril diameter of 2 inches.
The elephant's trunk contains over 40,000 muscles. The human body only contains 639 muscles! The trunk is so delicate it is at times used to wipe or clean their eyes. On the other hand, the trunk is an extremely powerful tool that can pull out trees and lift up to 350 kg!
The trunks have "fingers" (finger-like appendages that act like opposable thumbs). African elephant have two fingers while Asian elephant have only one finger. That is why the African elephant is able to grasp objects by pinching the opposing tips of the trunk. The Asian elephant must wrap its trunk round objects like a boa constrictor (it holds objects against the underside of the trunk).
Using the fingers, the elephant is able to crack a peanut shell with its trunk, without breaking the nut.
The elephants use the trunks to snorkel. They are the only animals that can snorkel without aid. By holding the tips of their trunks above the water's surface, elephants can traverse rivers totally submerged.
The trunks give elephants an incredibly powerful sense of smell – twice as sensitive as a bloodhound! It can smell of food and water from incredibly long distances – almost 20 kilometres away. Key to this ability is millions of receptor cells housed in the trunk’s upper nasal cavity.
An adult elephant trunk can hold roughly 10 litres of water. Contrary to popular belief, elephants do not drink with their trunks; they suck water up into them and then spray it into their mouths. They also use the water to spray over themselves to cool off.
Elephants use their trunks to show compassion or comfort to another elephant. They rub each other with their trunks as an act of compassion. Unconditional love!
The elephant trunk is a versatile tool used for breathing, smelling, touching, grasping, and producing sound. It's probably the most amazing body part in the animal kingdom!
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