An elephant’s strength is so great that it can take down trees simply by tugging at the branches with its trunk. A video from the YouTube channel, PETER FERNANDES (GRENT WORLD), shows one determined elephant doing just that. Is this common behavior? And why would elephants want to knock down trees anyway? Let’s find out.
African bush elephants are the largest land animals on Earth.
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Physical Capabilities and Muscle Mass of Elephants
In the video we mentioned above, you can hear the sound of the tree as it bends and shakes. The elephant keeps pushing back and forth with its trunk until finally, the tree crashes to the ground.
It’s no wonder that elephants can take down trees. African Savanna (Bush) elephants are the world’s largest land mammals after all. They can reach up to 10 feet tall and weigh over 13,000 pounds. Even newborn calves weigh over 200 pounds at birth. There are three species of elephants: Asian, African Savanna (Bush), and African Forest. The bush elephant is the largest species.
In addition to being large, elephants possess a lot of strength. Animal experts estimate that elephants can lift the equivalent of their body weight. Their trunks are incredibly strong, made up of 17 muscles and about 150,000 bundles of muscle fibers, called fascicles. These fascicles are wrapped in connective tissue, giving the trunk both strength and flexibility.
Why Elephants Push Over Trees
Elephants strip trees of bark and also eat the leaves, twigs, and roots.
©LMIMAGES/Shutterstock.com
We know elephants are powerful enough to knock down trees, but why would they want to? The short answer is, because they are hungry. Elephants eat a lot of plants, including bark, branches, and roots. Each part of the tree provides a different type of nutrient that is important to the elephant.
By knocking the tree over, the elephant can more readily reach their food. With their large size, they need a lot of calories to maintain energy levels. Elephants eat about 330 to 660 pounds of vegetation per day.
Why Else Might Elephants Knock Down Trees?
Aside from nutritional needs, some experts theorize that elephants may sometimes push trees over as a way of communication. A falling tree can be heard from a long way away, and the elephant may be doing it to signal elephants in the area, either to warn them of a danger or alert them of its presence. It could even be that elephants knock trees over for fun or to show off their strength.
How Elephants Benefit the Ecosystem
Elephants are such significant shapers of the landscapes they live in that some animal experts call them landscape engineers. They clear out trees, creating open areas where other plants and vegetation can grow. By clearing brush and excess foliage, elephants help reduce potential fuel for wildfires and can create natural firebreaks. It also benefits other herbivores that eat grass and ground vegetation.
The post Why Does This Massive Elephant Shake a Tree Until It Falls Over? appeared first on A-Z Animals.
