African Wildlife & Environment Issue 78

ELLIE TALK Elephants communicate in many ways by making different sounds.They even make secretive calls that we can hardly hear called infrasonic calls.They also use their bodies to send a message.When an elephant is unhappy with your presence, they will show signs

that say beware such as head shaking with trunk forward and ears out.

Elephants even communicate through their feet

Watch elephants listen with their feet

IS IT A HE OR SHE? It is not easy telling a male elephant apart from the female. Generally, the males hang out alone or in small groups.The adult bulls are also up to 3m in height! The females are found in larger groups with the youngsters and the adult cow is smaller than the adult bull.The forehead of the elephant also gives a clue to if it is he or she. Males have a rounded forehead and females’ forehead is more angled with a point. Can you tell whether the male is on the left hand side or right hand side?

FINDING FOOD Elephants eat a huge amount of food every day.They do not wait for breakfast, lunch and dinner but rather feed throughout the whole day and night.They can reach leaves at the top of the tallest trees by standing up on their back legs and reaching up with their trunks or pick the tiniest fruit found lying on the ground with the tip of their amazing trunk.They are often seen hitting a grass clump against their leg or tusks to get rid of the loose soil before eating it.They have even been seen hitting their forehead against tree trunks to loosen seed pods which then fall to the ground. Sometimes they have been spotted eating dirt! They do this to help them get minerals which they might need, just like mom giving you vitamins.

SLAVE OR MASTER TUSK? Do you write with your left or right hand? Just like you prefer to use a left or right hand so do elephants prefer to use a left or right tusk.The tusk most used will be more worn down and is called the slave tusk. So of course, the other tusk would be called the Master! The tusks are used for many different tasks such as digging, stripping bark off trees and protection.Tusks can even be used to hang the trunk on when feeling a little weary! Run your finger along your front teeth, these are called incisors.The tusks of the elephant are their modified upper incisor teeth that continue to grow throughout their lives. Is the slave tusk on the left hand side or right hand side?

The male elephant is on the right hand side.The slave tusk is on the right hand side

61 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 78 (2021)