Elephants are powerful, majestic creatures, but the average person doesn’t know much about them beyond their big ears, trunks, and tusks. From their intricate social structures to their undeniable intelligence, there’s no shortage of interesting elephant facts for us to discover.
Here at Fahlo, we have an infinite curiosity for these gigantic creatures, and we’re also deeply determined to protect their existence. These reasons are why we’ve created a line of animal tracking bracelets and plushes that support the conservation and research efforts of nonprofits like Save The Elephants.
To deepen your knowledge, we’ve curated a list below of the 15 most interesting elephant facts. Our hope is that you’ll walk away from this list with a greater appreciation for these wondrous animals. Whether you are looking for fun facts about elephants to share or deep insights into their biology, we have you covered.
ELEPHANT FACT #1: THEY TAKE DECADES TO FINISH GROWING
This is one of the interesting facts about the elephant that sets them apart from many other creatures. While humans grow to their full size in the first quarter of their lifespan, male elephants can take as long as 40 years to finish growing.
Wild elephants live just a few years short of a human lifespan at a range of 60-70 years. That means they spend more than half their lives growing.
With that being said, elephants are large animals from birth. In fact, newborn male African elephants can weigh over 250 pounds. Another interesting fact about elephants is that they may even grow to be nearly 50 times that size as adults.
ELEPHANT FACT #2: THEY ARE THE LARGEST ANIMALS ON LAND
Many fun facts about elephants are related to their massive size. While the largest whales can dwarf them in scale, African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. They’re slightly larger than their counterparts in Asia, with male African elephants weighing over 12,000 pounds in some cases.
Males from Africa can also reach up to 13 feet from their shoulders to the ground. That’s more than twice the height of the average human. Meanwhile, Asian elephants are a little smaller, but they’re still massive compared to most other land animals.
ELEPHANT FACT #3: THEIR TRUNKS ARE EXTRAORDINARILY VERSATILE
Elephants are known for their trunks, but most people don’t realize just how powerful those tools really are. One of the more interesting facts about the elephant is that they have around 150,000 different muscle units in their trunk.
This makes this unique body part a surprisingly helpful instrument for a variety of tasks. An elephant trunk can hold nearly ten liters of water, and it can also be used to do something as precise as shelling peanuts.
ELEPHANT FACT #4: THEY HAVE MUCH THICKER SKIN THAN HUMANS
Human skin is only a few millimeters thick, while elephant skin is typically more than two full centimeters. Their famous wrinkles give them the ability to retain water and cool down as needed, which is highly convenient in much of their natural habitat.
Another related fun fact about elephants is that they also take “baths” in mud and dust to protect their skin. By doing so, they’re able to remove debris and avoid sun damage.
ELEPHANT FACT #5: THEY GROW UP FAST
We mentioned that elephants take decades to fully grow, but that doesn’t mean that young elephants are helpless. While newborn humans take years to walk, talk, and interact with others, one of the most amazing elephant facts is that their babies can stand and walk within a few hours.
Also, it only takes them around two days to keep up with adults. Because of this, new elephants barely cause any delay for the rest of the herd.
ELEPHANT FACT #6: THEY HAVE REMARKABLE MEMORY
One of the most interesting facts about elephants is their incredible memory. Elephants have been observed remembering old routes, waterholes, and even other elephants they haven't seen in years. Because they live long lives, elephants gather decades of knowledge that is essential for the group's survival.
Their brains, which are the largest of any land animal, play a significant role in this. This ability aids in their survival, allowing them to recall locations of water sources during droughts or remember dangers from the past.
ELEPHANT FACT #7: THEIR CULTURE REVOLVES AROUND FEMALES
One of the most interesting facts about elephants involves their social structures. Elephants live in matriarchal societies, meaning the eldest female leads the herd.
The matriarch uses her years of experience to guide the herd to food and water sources and keep them safe from predators. When she passes, another older female, usually her eldest daughter, takes on this critical leadership role.
ELEPHANT FACT #8: THEY HAVE A UNIQUE WAY OF COMMUNICATING
One of the more fun facts about elephants is their advanced communication abilities. Beyond their audible trumpets, elephants use infrasound (low-frequency sound) to communicate with each other over long distances.
These sounds, which are below the range of human hearing, can travel several kilometers. This form of communication is particularly beneficial when herds need to convey messages about threats, directions, or mating calls.
They can actually communicate through seismic sounds that create vibrations in the ground. Elephants may detect these vibrations through their bones. This is one of those elephant facts that sounds like science fiction but is purely biological!
ELEPHANT FACT #9: THEY LIVE EMOTION-FILLED LIVES
From joy and love to grief and anger, elephants are known to exhibit a wide range of emotions. Because they are generally friendly and deeply bonded to their herd, they mourn the loss of their herd members, sometimes standing beside the deceased for hours and touching the body with their trunks.
Baby elephants, or calves, are the center of attention within the herd and receive immense affection and care. Observing these emotional displays gives more depth to our understanding of these majestic creatures.
ELEPHANT FACT #10: THEY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN REGULATING THEIR HABITATS
Playing the role of "ecosystem engineers," elephants have a profound impact on their environment. By feeding on certain plants, they prevent some species from dominating, ensuring biodiversity.
Additionally, their dung plays a vital role as it disperses seeds and facilitates plant growth. Understanding these interesting facts about elephants and their contributions to their ecosystem emphasizes these animals’ importance in maintaining a balanced habitat.
ELEPHANT FACT #11: THERE ARE THREE DISTINCT SPECIES
People often group all elephants together. However, one lesser-known elephant fact is that there are actually three species of elephant: African savanna (bush), African forest, and Asian.
You can tell them apart by their ears! One of the fun facts about elephants is that their ears look like the place they live. The ears of African bush elephants are much larger than their cousins' and are shaped like the African continent. In contrast, the Asian elephants’ ears are shaped a bit like the Indian subcontinent. There is also a trunk difference: African elephants have two "fingers" at the tip of their trunks, whereas Asian elephants have one.
ELEPHANT FACT #12: THEIR TUSKS ARE ACTUALLY TEETH
Here is one of those interesting facts about elephants that surprises many people: elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth. These teeth first appear when elephants are around two years old.
Elephant tusks continue growing throughout their lives. While they are used for feeding or as a defense when fighting, they are also a liability. These beautiful tusks are made of ivory, a much-desired material that fuels the illegal wildlife trade. This trade is a primary reason why African forest elephants are endangered.
ELEPHANT FACT #13: THEY ARE INCREDIBLY STRONG
We often hear fun facts about elephants regarding their size, but their power is equally impressive. As the largest living terrestrial mammal, they are arguably the strongest animals in the savanna, capable of pushing over trees to get to the roots.
When two rival bulls fight, they engage in a contest of pure physical might, often leaving the landscape unrecognizable. These powerful skirmishes can result in uprooted trees, deeply scored earth, and extensive destruction across the fighting ground, a testament to their colossal physical presence.
ELEPHANT FACT #14: THEY EAT CONSTANTLY AND RARELY SLEEP
If you love to eat, this might be one of your favorite fun facts about elephants. Elephants are constantly eating. Because they require so much energy, they need to eat up to 330 pounds of food per day.
Elephants eat so much that they can spend up to three-quarters of their day just foraging for plants. This leaves very little time for sleep. They are known to sleep for as little as two to four hours a day, often standing up.
ELEPHANT FACT #15: ELEPHANT POPULATIONS ARE DISAPPEARING
This is one of the more somber facts about elephants, but it is essential to know. Around 90% of African elephants have been wiped out in the past century. Estimates suggest that as few as 400,000 African bush elephants remain.
Asian elephants are also under threat, having declined by at least 50% in the last three generations. As their habitat changes and is lost to human settlements and agriculture, elephants face challenges that make traditional migration routes difficult to follow.
CLOSING THE BOOK ON THE MOST INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ELEPHANTS
Now that you know all about elephants, it’s critical that we protect them together. While they continue to appear naturally in Africa and Asia, elephant populations have declined dramatically over the last several generations.
With the elephant population dwindling, it has never been more important to increase awareness of this unique animal. Elephants are a symbol of wisdom, loyalty, and strength, and their decline is a call to action for all of us.
It is this critical need for action that fuels our mission at Fahlo. We partner with non-profit organizations to create bracelets and plushes that come with a real animal to track. We started this mission in 2018, and since then have been fortunate to donate millions of dollars to save wildlife. By supporting us, you help ensure that all of these fun facts about elephants remain a reality for generations to come.
Elephant Facts FAQs:
What do elephants eat?
Elephants eat grasses, leaves, shrubs, fruits, and roots depending on the season. When it is particularly dry, they will eat woody parts of trees like twigs, branches, and bark. African forest elephants are also known to feed on mineral deposits found in the soil, such as calcium and phosphorus.
Are elephants mammals?
Yes. The African elephant is the world's largest land mammal, giving birth to live young and nursing them.
Do elephants have teeth?
Yes! Aside from their molars used for grinding down hundreds of pounds of vegetation, their tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth.
Do elephants have tusks?
Yes, tusks appear when elephants are around two years old and continue growing throughout their lives. However, female Asian elephants have tiny tusks that barely reach beyond their lips or don’t have any at all. Among these elephant fun facts is that their tusks are used to help with feeding, such as digging up roots or prising bark off trees.