Skip to main content

Why Do Elephants Eat Sand


Why do elephants eat sand?

The elephant's trunk is actually a long nose. It uses it for smelling drinking and picking stuff up like grass and twigs to eat, it also uses it for breathing while swimming.

At the end of the elephant's trunk are two finger-like features which helps it to grab really small items like sand and pebbles.
The sand could also work as an abrasive by helping to digest some of the more fibrous plants that it eats.

Elephants eat sand which contain minerals like calcium sodium and iron which is important for maintaining a healthy diet.
This elephant is using its toenails to break some particles of the soil and actually, it's pushing some of the sand right into the trunk before picking it up, it's not using those two finger like structures, it's breaking the bigger pieces and then putting it into its mouth.

Sometimes the sand or clay could help minimize stomach aches from the plants which have toxins.
Every elephant is a different individual and each has its own style of eating sand. So the earlier one was actually pushing the sand into its trunk whereas these ones are using the fingers on the trunk to pick up the sand and put it into their mouth.
Female elephants tend to eat more sand than males, which suggests that the females have a greater nutritional need for it especially during pregnancy and lactation.

#elephants #wildlife #wildkenyasafaris

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lions Mating Up Close In Kenya

This lion and lioness are mating really close to the road.

Wild Animals Pooping

When nature calls how do different animals handle their business, every animal poops differently. A couple of videos of some wildlife going to the bathroom when nature calls. Every species had different shapes and sizes of stools which can also be used to identify them like you do with tracks in the sand. #wildlife #animals #wildkenyasafaris Watch Wildlife Videos on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/shazaadkasmani I Edit Wildlife Photos On Luminar: https://macphun.evyy.net/KWVna Buy Wildlife Photography Gear: https://www.amazon.com/shop/shazaadkasmani Get your Wildlife Photography Shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/shazaadkasmani Signup for Photography Tips: https://www.patreon.com/shazaadkasmani Book a Wildlife Safari: https://www.wildkenyasafaris.com

Wild Kenya Safaris And TV Documentaries

Lion resting in Masai Mara Game Reserve As the old saying goes... still waters run deep.  The month has been particularly busy for us with our valued repeat guests enjoying their safaris. Hence, there has been a few gaps of silence on our timeline in regards to updating the Wild Kenya Safaris blog. With a parallel project running, our safari team has nevertheless been out in the game parks doing what we love best. All our safaris from January to date have been simply spectacular! This year has also been particularly exciting as the Wild Kenya Safaris team has been working closely with wildlife filmmakers to bring you some of the latest nature documentaries to hit your TV screens. Its been great fun sharing our experiences and expertise with them as we are out in the field in search of some very special wildlife moments with the crews. We are proud to be part of the process that will soon be bringing you, some of those awe inspiring nature films we all love to watch so