The cute charming angels of our houses are amused by wild life and are attracted by their habitats and living. Elephants are a huge attraction for kids with its enormous large size and flappy ears. Kids love to see elephants very much. The large tusks emerging out of the upper jaws, the most obvious nose or trunk and the tiny tail regale little kids. There are copious facts about this largest living land mammal in the world that kids are not acquainted with and knowing these amazing facts will certainly entertain and thrill them. Here are 25 facts about elephants for kids. These facts are very much interesting and informative too.

Facts about Elephants for Kids

Types of Elephants

There are two types of elephants that differ according to their location and genes. They are Asian elephants and African elephants.

• Asian Elephants are also called as wooly mammoths and they are generally grey in color filled with dust and dirt.
• African elephants are also called as Savannah elephants and they are of two types namely African bush elephant and African forest elephant.

Extinct

Elephants of a certain species are endangered now but the taxonomy order proboscides have only 3 members left today.

• They had survived the glacial periods and had a tiny structure compared to modern Asian elephants.
• Woolly mammoths have also gone extinct with their diminished count.

Death

Once an elephant reaches its death bed the other elephants try to revive it by supplying food and water. However if the elephant dies they prepare a grave and cover the dead elephant with branches and dirt.

• It shows signs of depression and affinity.
• There have been reports about elephants burying dead humans.

Close relative

Rock Hyrax is a small furry mammal that is believed to the closest relative of elephant. It lives along the coastal regions of Arabian Peninsula and in the rocky areas across sub-Saharan Africa.

Critters

Elephants have a huge size but the hilarious part is they are scared of tiniest of all ants. It is unbelievable but a strange fact too.

• Avoids feeding on trees that are homes to ants especially acacia tree.
• Elephants can crush ants but prevents them from walking into their trunks owing to the sensitive nerves inside.

Pregnancy Duration

The pregnancy duration of female elephants are longest among all animals which is around 22 months.

Groupism

Elephants mainly the females live in groups and follow a queen.A group of 15 elephants are by the oldest member of the group known as Matriarch who commands and directs the rest.

Taste

Elephants don’t prefer eating peanuts and even avoid eating them in the wild. They are very picky about their taste.

Traits of Male Elephants

The male elephants abandon their groups between the age group 12-15 and live among all males.

• During dry times male elephants form a linear hierarchy that prevents them from injuries resulting from competition for water.
• These are the traits of male elephants.

Run and Rush

Elephants running around are quite a daunting scene. Asian elephants generally don’t run because they don’t involve all four feet for running but keeps atleast two glued to ground always.

Intellect

Elephants fall under the category of one of the most intellectual animal on our planet.

• Their brain weighs nearly 5kg.
• It has many complex wrinkles and folds that significantly contribute to their high intelligence.

Mirror Test

Amazingly like all cute kids love watching them on mirrors, even elephants can recognize them and pass the mirror test.

Fame

Elephants are popular individuals in the world and they define the word huge in many places.

• The largest elephant in the world. He was of great demand for kids.
• He died a sad death at the age of 24 when hit by a train.

Skin Sensitivity

Elephants have sensitive skin and hence get sunburn. They throw sands and roll on ground to protect their skin from getting exposed to harmful sun rays.

Choice of Fruits

Elephants are pretty choosy about fruits and don’t eat the fermented fruits off the ground.

• They prefer fresh fruits which keep their digestive system healthy.
• An elephants would take about 1400 pieces of fermented fruits to get drunk.

Cautious

Elephants are pretty cautious to keep them free from insects and bugs and hence roll over sand and dirt to protect themselves from bugs.

Baby Elephants

Baby elephants are generally blind and some of them even suck their trunks just like human babies suck their thumbs.

• They resemble human traits in many ways.
• Mother elephant appoints baby-sitters to take care of the little ones while she produces milk.

Special Quality

African elephants have sensory organs that detect seismic signals resulting from the vibrations of ground and determine its sound direction.

Care for Kids

Adult elephants douse their little ones in sand and stand by them all day when they sleep to protect them from adversities and danger.

Extra Toe

Elephants have a sixth toe that is attached to its big toe. It starts off as a cartilage but gets altered to bone with ageing.

Scared of Bees

In Kenya many farmers keep beehives across the borders of their fields to protect from elephants and garner some additional income by extracting honey.

Ivory

Ivory is a white hard material that is obtained from the tusks of elephants.

• Ivory is widely used in arts and crafts to make a range of items using ivory carvings and designs.
• They can even unlock simple doors by intellect and skill.

Trunk

Elephants have a huge and long visible trunk that is trained to be used for varied purposes. Masters train their pet elephants to use their trunk to paint and even create enchanting artwork.

Feelings

Elephants have strong emotions and can express different feelings of humor, grief, sorrow, happiness, compassion playfulness and marvelous learning abilities. They even perform death rituals.

Flat Feet

Elephants have flat feet with straight legs that support the weight of their large body. They walk huge distances and are comfortable with that kind of living.