Elephants' trunks are muscular, flexible extensions of their upper lip and nose. The tip of an African elephant's trunk has two fingerlike growths that enables them to grasp food and other small objects. The tip of an Asiatic elephant's trunk has only one fingerlike growth. Both species use their trunks to strip vegetation from branches and to pull grasses from the ground.
To drink, elephants suck water up into their trunk. They then place the end of the trunk in their mouth and release the water. African elephants also use their trunks to take dust baths that help to repel insects and guard against harmful rays of the sun. To give itself a dust bath, an African elephant sucks dust into its trunk. The elephant then bends its trunk overhead and blows the dust out over its back.
Find out more:
- The Tale of the Trunk (PBS)
- Elephant Taking a Dust Bath (Ross Warner)
- About Elephant Trunks (Upali.ch)
