Looking for some fun facts about elephants for kids that you didn’t know yet? When a child gets interested in something new, it’s fun to explore it with them. So, give them the tools they need to dig deeper and learn more.
This page will be very helpful if you know a child who is interested in them or animals in general. We’ve put together a list of fifteen fun and interesting facts about elephants for kids. We also put some links to more information, sources, and references. Let’s start then the fun facts about elephants for kids here.
Top Fun Facts About Elephants for Kids
#1. Elephants are unable to jump.
They can’t jump, no matter how cutely they are portrayed in TV shows and movies. Now, this may not come as much of a surprise because they are so big, but there are other, less obvious reasons why they can’t jump.
Most animals that jump do so because they have to either get food or get away from danger. Lucky for our elephant friends, they are too big for most animals to want to eat, and food is easy for them to get.
The shape of their bones is another reason why they can’t jump. Unlike ours, the bones in an elephant’s legs only point down. This means they don’t have the “spring” they need to jump into the air.
#2. Two species of elephants exist
The African (Loxodonta Africana) and Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) are the two types of them that live on Earth today. African one lives in the Sahel desert, sub-Saharan Africa, and tropical forests in Central and West Africa. Asian ones live in tropical forests in Nepal, India, and Southeast Asia.
The size and shape of their ears can be used to tell them apart. The ears of an Asian Elephant are smaller and not as big as those of an African Elephant.
#3. The largest living land animals are the elephants
Let’s talk more about fun facts about elephants for kids and enjoy the article. African Elephants are between 8 and 13 feet tall at the shoulder when they are fully grown, and they weigh between 5,000 and 14,000 pounds. Asian ones are smaller than African species. They stand between 7 and 10 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh between 4,500 and 11,000 pounds on average.
The Blue Whale is the only living animal that is bigger than an Elephant. It lives in the Pacific, Antarctic, and Atlantic oceans.
#4. Elephants live and travel in a herd
They need close relationships and family ties, just like we do. Herds are groups of females ranging in size from 8 to 100. In a herd, all of them are related, and the oldest one is the leader.
At between 12 and 15 years of age, all males leave the herd and live on their own or with other males.
#5. It is possible for elephants to live up to 70 years old.
They can live up to 70 years if they are left alone in their natural habitat with plenty of food and water and not too much stress. This is not too far from how long most people live.
Just like with people and other animals, some things can make an animal live less long. They are hurt by not having enough food or water, getting sick, and being illegally hunted. Even though they can fight off most predators, illegal poaching has hugely affected the number of wild ones. Keep enjoying these fun facts about elephants for kids and learn at the same time.
#6. Underwater, elephants can breathe using their trunks.
Our list of fun facts about elephants for kids will continue. It may surprise you that they can swim well on their own. Their size makes it easy for them to float, and their trunks help them swim for long distances.
They can use their trunks to eat, pick up things, and drink water, but they can also use them as a snorkel to breathe while swimming underwater. They love water and will swim for hours to cool off and look for new places to live.
#7. Elephants have great IQ
Well! This one is going to prove a great fact about elephants. This might sound impossible, but look at what happened in 1999 at The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.
When a new Asian Elephant named Shirley came to the sanctuary, it didn’t take long for workers to notice that Jenny, an African Elephant, was very excited. Employees were confused because it wasn’t the kind of response you’d expect when introducing new members.
When people looked into the pasts of both of them, they were surprised to learn that they had both briefly worked in the same circus 23 years before. What a crazy idea!
#8. Pregnancy lasts two years in elephants.
In the womb, an elephant foetus grows for 22 months. To put this in perspective, a human foetus takes about nine months to grow. Thus, they have around 2.5 longer gestation periods than humans. Well! Make sure you remember all these fun facts about elephants for kids too.
When an elephant is born, it weighs between 200 and 300 pounds, so it’s easy to see why it takes them so much longer to grow up than any other mammal. Also, unlike human babies, elephant babies are born with almost fully developed brains. This teaches them how to walk, eat, and know their place in the herd soon after they are born.
#9. Elephants use mud to protect themselves from the sun.
They need to be careful about the sun, just like we do. Moreover, they do not use artificial sunscreens, but they are smart animals, so they use something else that is easy to find: mud.
They cover themselves in mud by spraying it on with their trunks or by bathing in it. Mud can also protect you from ticks and other bugs.
#10. Elephants consume 30 to 50 gallons of water every day in addition to their huge food intake
Water is important to an elephant’s daily life because it helps them stay hydrated, cool down, bathe, and even play. Water intake is also important for digestion, so it’s not surprising that a big animal like an elephant can drink so much of it.
If you need a way to picture 50 gallons of water, imagine drinking 12 1/2 big jugs of milk or almost a full bathtub.
#11. At least 16 hours a day, elephants eat.
They are plant-eaters, so they only eat plants. They are also one of the biggest animals in the world, so it might not surprise you that they spend most of their time eating. Because they are so big and strong, they have to eat a lot of plants to get the energy they need. Think about dinner being a bowl of plain greens.
To fill you up, it would have to be such a big bowl. Now, try to picture yourself as big as an elephant. Thinking about these fun facts about elephants for kids will bring a smile to your face.
They like to eat things like bamboo, flowers, fruits, grasses, leaves, twigs, seeds, and herbs. This is a chance to ask the child what their favourite foods are, how much of those foods they would eat if they were an elephant, and other fun and creative things to think about.
#12. Elephants have a great fear of bees
They are afraid of bees. It’s hard to imagine a big animal like an elephant being afraid of anything, but it’s true.
When they hear a beehive buzzing nearby, they react by flapping their ears, kicking up dust, making noises, or running away. So afraid are African farmers of them that they have started keeping beehives near their crops to keep them away.
#13. The greatest enemies of elephants are humans
As far as we know, they don’t have any natural enemies. Lions and other strong predators may eat weak or young ones in the wild, but they don’t have any other natural enemies. In other words, most animals like and respect them. So, while learning the fun facts about elephants for kids, you should participate in saving them.
Unfortunately, humans are the biggest threat to them. In the name of the ivory trade, hunters have killed a lot of them for no reason. However, they are now under the protected category, and it is now illegal to make ivory from them. This has cut down on the violence against these beautiful and important animals, but it hasn’t stopped it completely.
#14 Elephants can communicate with each other from miles away
Among other fun facts about elephants for kids is their communication. They use different sounds to talk to each other. Some of these noises are crying, roaring, snorting, and rumbling. They have very good hearing, which lets them talk and hear each other from up to 5 miles away. Having this kind of hearing can help you find your friends when you’re lost!
They can do this thing after using the sensory receptors in their feet. This way, they hear sound vibrations as they move through the ground at a volume that only they can hear.
When you think about how big they are, it makes sense that they can make sounds so deep that they can shake the ground, but it’s still amazing to think about! They sound like a living subwoofer. Thank goodness they’re not your neighbours!
Bottom line
We hope you enjoyed these fun facts about elephants for kids. They are important animals that need our help to live and do well all over the world. Things have changed over the past few years. People who know more are less interested in ivory or circus animals who are treated badly. Still, a lot of work needs to be done, starting with education!
Continue reading: 11 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT DEER TO KNOW TODAY
Parvaiz Yousuf is a senior SEO writer and editor with an experience of over 6 years, who also doubles up as a researcher. With an MSc zoology degree under his belt and possessing complete Search Engine Optimization (SEO) knowledge, he works as a science journalist for a US-based website and Asian Scientist (A Singapore-based magazine). He also works as Director of Wetland Research Centre, Wildlife Conservation Fund YPJK since 2018. Besides, he has several publications to his name on cancer biology and biochemistry in some reputed journals such as Nature & International Journal of Molecular Sciences, & magazines such as Science Reporter, BUCEROS BNHS, and has an abiding interest in ornithology. He also worked as a Research Associate for JK Policy Institute.
