Why Do Elephants Have Trunks?

Why Do Elephants Have Trunks?

You can tell an elephant by its large and elongated trunk that seems like it could smell you miles away. Like an elephant’s tusks that can carry large barks and a monkey’s tail that is able to wrap itself around objects like a branch or food, an elephant was given its trunk for a reason.

For humans perhaps, having a trunk would seem like having special powers to sniff a neighbor’s delectable meal blocks away from your house, or to grab a sandwich from the person beside you using your nose. If you were short, having a trunk would make life a lot more convenient for you no longer have to climb a ladder to reach a book from a high shelf or you can even swim laps in an Olympic tool without having to resurface to breath. All you would have to do is use your long nose as your snorkel.

An elephant’s nose is as limber as a garden hose when water flows through it. It is made up of thousands of tendons and muscles with its tip covered with hundreds of nerve endings. Adding into this unique feature of an elephant is its two finger-like tips that make it easy for them to pick up or grasp small objects in particular. In addition to it’s many wonders, an elephants trunk alone can weight up to 400 pounds and measure at 6 to 7 feet long,¦ that makes it taller and heavier than a regular human being.

For an elephant with a functional tusk, it is like having a Swiss-army knife handy as he travels around the jungle. Imagine this, with one trunk alone, an elephant can hoist large logs, collect large buckets of water and shower himself with it, select and snatch tasty leaves form a tree, pick up a morsel, sniff the air for the danger of lingering predators and so much more!