Hey steemians! The Hipster Pikachu here, bringing you another fact and celebration filled day dedicated to a certain animal. August 12 is today which is also known as World Elephant Day!

Conceived in 2011 and officially founded and launch on August 12, 2012 by two Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims & Michael Clark, and Sivaporn Dardarananda, the secretary-general of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand. Dedicated to the preservation and protection of the largest living land mammal in the world!

The Elephant Facts

Long Lived

Besides Humans Elephants also have long lifespan, in fact they can live up to 80 years.

Natural Swimmer

Though Elephants lack the ability to jump, but they make for it with their swimming skills, they can swim long distances with the help of their trunk acting like a snorkel.

No Sweat!

The Elephants skin does not have perspiratory or sweat glands, which is needed to reduce body temperature in case of overheating. They use an alternative way to cool themselves. The Elephant massive ears is full of blood vessels, and when it flaps it produce a cold burst of wind which cools the blood and ultimately cooling the whole body.

Massive Appetite

Elephants eat a lot of food. On an average day, they can consume up to 270 kg of food.

Left-Handed Or Right-Handed?

The Elephant trunk is a elongated nose, which  contains 40,000 different muscles. Besides using it to breathe and smell, it also acts as a hand. It has two finger-like tips at the end that it uses to clasp smaller object. And it even been observe that Elephant shows preference between grasping object to the left or right!

Photographic Memory

It is proven that Elephant have incredible memories, which they use to map the geography surrounding them and even remember faces. Their massive brain is the one responsible for that -- one of the largest brain in the animal kingdom(the largest of all land animals), it weighs as much as 5 kg.

The Land Giant

The largest land mammal living today. The largest living species of the Elephant  is the African Bush Elephant which can reach the of height of 13 feet and weight as much as 6 tons.

The Three Kings

The modern Elephant consists of three species:

• The largest is the African Bush Elephant or Loxodonta africana. The most known species of all elephants. They can be found throughout the grassy plains and bush lands of eastern & southern Africa
• The African Forest Elephant or Loxodonta cyclotis, is the smallest of the African Elephants, they can weigh up to 5 tons and can reach the height of up to 10 feet. Primarily found on the densely wooded rain forests of west and central Africa. 
• Asian Elephant or Elephas maximus. Also known as Asiatic Elephant, it is the smallest of all modern elephants, weighing as much as 4 tons, and can reach the heights of 9 feet. They used to roam most of Asia, but now can only be found on some parts of south east Asia. 

Humble Beginnings

Phosphatherium is the prehistoric ancestor of all Elephants. Unlike most of the Elephant species(modern & prehistoric) that lived, the Phosphatherium doesn't fare well when it comes to size, in fact it's only 3 foot long, weighs 30 pounds, and looks more like a tapir.

The Elephant In The Room

Despite being banned on the international trade, Elephant ivory is still being sold around the globe, primarily thru black markets. Meaning there is still demands on ivory, and demands means death on the part of Elephants. It is estimated that poachers kill about 27,000 Elephant every single year for the sole purpose of harvesting their tusks. Poaching is the leading cause of deaths of all Elephants.

To learn more about the preservation of Elephants you can go to wildtomorrowfund.org & worldelephantday.org

Cheers!
hipsterpikachu

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