You might know a few things here and there about elephants, but there might be more facts that you don’t know about. Dive into the depths of the secrets of the elephants in this summary of National Geographic Kids article.

The first secret is that elephants have a very good memory. Have you ever heard the phrase, “You have a memory like an elephant.”? That’s a reference to an elephant’s remarkable remembrance of things. This helps them by remembering the voices of humans who they met years ago and other elephants’ sounds to know who is safe and who is dangerous. A good memory also helps them survive in their habitat by recalling where to find food and water and how to dig a well if there appears to be little water from a source.

The second secret is an elephant’s long-distance calls. You can probably identify other people’s voices if you know them. It’s the same with elephants. However, instead of communicating with our language, they use certain calls to beckon each other when necessary. For example, when elephants split into hunting groups, they use these calls to identify each other for their reunion. In fact, a female elephant can recognize the calls of about 100 different family members. Elephants can even recognize who friends, family, and strangers are.

The third secret is something that even shocked me: elephants adopt orphans. Like when a child’s parents die, they might get adopted, when an elephant’s mom dies, the baby could possibly get adopted by another elephant. Tulip adopted the baby while having another calf. Tulip was so generous she even adopted a third young elephant! This shows that elephants can show sympathy for each other, revealing their intelligence.

The fourth secret is that elephants use their trunks in their daily lives. Their trunks are used to exclaim phrases in a certain way, grab objects, food, and water, and even horse around. Elephants actually find a way to do things like using the faucet and sucking water from water tanks after opening the lid. However, they accidentally leave the faucet on. Elephants might be intelligent, but maybe not that smart enough to turn off the nozzle.

Last, but not least, elephants care about other wounded elephants. If elephants gaze at an injured elephant, they immediately rush over to them and try to help them in the best way possible. A biologist, George Wittemyer, once saw a young female always visited by her elephant family members because of her broken leg, which, luckily, recovered. Elephants not only are sympathetic, but they also show kindness to their dear elephant friends and family.

In conclusion, the elephant is a fascinating, extraordinary mammal. It might not be everyone’s favorite animal, but it sure is one clever critter.

Written by Kruti Patel