Description
While the human body has around 600 muscles, the elephant trunk has over 40,000.
The trunk is used to drink, to spray themselves with water, to breath, to smell, to gather food, to trumpet and communicate, to assess reproductive status of others, to feel and sense, to reach upper branches of trees and to gently touch through tactile communication.
It is incredibly tough and can be used to uproot trees and lift weights in excess of 300kg. Yet, it is also extremely sensitive. The tip of the trunk is filled with nerve endings and has two “fingertip” extensions which can be used to grasp small objects and even to gently wipe their eyes. It is covered in hairs which allow it to softly sense objects. It is estimated that their sense of smell is four times that of a bloodhound. Elephants have been trained in some areas to track down poachers using the scent trail left behind. This smell helps elephants track down water up to 20km away, even when the water is under the surface and requires some digging to reveal it.
Surely no other appendage is as versatile or as crucial in the animal world as the trunk of an elephant.
