Elephants Are Enormous! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yes

While blue whales are believed to be the largest living animals on earth, the elephant is the largest land animal in the world. Their closest living relatives include dugongs, manatees, and - believe it or not - the tiny hyrax. They have the largest brain in the animal kingdom, which, of course, makes sense because they are so enormous! With an intelligence that is compared to that of some primates, elephants are believed to grieve over their dead, even remembering places where loved ones have died, and stopping to pay respect.

Answer: True

The male African elephant is the largest of the species; the largest on record weighed approximately 24,000 pounds and was 13 feet tall at the shoulder! Some scientists believe there are really more distinct species of elephants, dividing them into areas where they live.

For example, there are two types of African elephants - one lives in the forest and the other lives in the savannah. Many describe Asian elephants by the countries or areas in which they are found, such as the Indian elephant, Sumatran elephant, or Sri Lankan elephant.

Answer: Grass, leaves, fruit

Elephants are herbivorous; it is believed that they spend approximately sixteen hours a day eating as much as 300-500 pounds of food, depending on their size! They especially enjoy eating tree bark, as it is a good source of calcium, and aids in their digestion. Preferring to live near a water source, they also need to drink 18-26 gallons a day - but may drink as many as 40.

In fact, an adult male elephant can drink 55 gallons of water in less than five minutes!

Answer: Woolly Mammoth

The woolly mammoth's closest living relative is the Asian elephant. It is believed that approximately 400,000 years ago the woolly mammoth first appeared in Asia. They were, however, closer in size to the African elephant. Covered in hair, the creature was well-equipped to handle the cold Ice Age weather in which it lived, however, as temperatures became warmer their habitat changed. Did that bring about their extinction? Or perhaps over hunting by humans?

Answer: Trumpeting

Believe it or not - elephants are said to purr as a means of communication. They also grunt and growl. The sound they make with their trunk, however, is called trumpeting. Elephants trumpet when they sense danger, feel aggressive, or get excited. Males also trumpet to attract females. These sounds can be heard for miles in the distance. Trunks are also used for smelling, breathing, drinking, and grabbing things.

Answer: Hyena

While many animals keep their distance when in the same area as an elephant, the group can be attacked by hyenas, wild dogs, and lions in Africa, or tigers in Asia; in most cases, however, only the young and weak are targeted. There is an incident on record where a young elephant was attacked by a rhino, which was killed by the other members of the family group.

It is very unusual to hear of a report of an attack on an adult elephant; however, in Asia, there are rare reports of tigers doing just that.

Answer: Tusks

Made of ivory, tusks are enlarged incisors. They are used to dig, strip the bark from trees, clear paths, and fight. Elephants have a tusk preference, much like people prefer one hand over another. Incidentally, elephants also have molar teeth, that are each approximately the size of a brick. Throughout their life they have 6 sets of molar teeth that are replaced when they reach a certain age.

When the last set is lost, usually in its early forties, the animal is unable to eat and eventually dies.

Answer: Matriarch

A baby elephant will typically stay with its mother until it is three years old. Males continue to live in the herd until the age of 12-15, then they will either live by themselves or with a small group of other males. The matriarchal family group of the females can contain ten or more members; the oldest female is the leader of the group until she either dies or "resigns".

Then her oldest daughter becomes the leader. Elephant groups have also been known to join together with other groups forming a clan; this helps especially during the dry season when it is important to protect areas that may be low on water.

Answer: To help them release heat

The ear of an African male elephant is estimated to weigh 100 pounds! Because they do not have sweat glands, elephants use their ear flaps, which contain small networks of capillaries, to release excess body heat. Elephants also spread their ears out wide to create a defensive posture when they feel threatened.

By the way, elephants are excellent swimmers. They use all four legs to swim, while keeping their head above water, their mouth below, and using their trunk as a snorkel to breathe.

Answer: Hannibal

It is easy to image the fear a war elephant would strike in the heart of an enemy. Historians believe that elephants were first used in India in this capacity as early as 11-8th centuries BCE. The elephant was trained to either toss the opposing soldier to the person riding or trample him to death. From south Asia, the practice spread in both directions to southwest and southeast Asia.

By the time of Alexander the Great, the Persians were using the animals in battle; Alexander taught his men how to injure the elephants and create panic.

The famous story of Hannibal the Carthaginian crossing the Alps with his war elephants in order to attack Rome captures every schoolchild's imagination!