Olfactory sensory abilities in Elephants. A remarkable asset
- An Elephants trunk is a most remarkable asset for the Elephant, extremely flexible and strong and with high sensory capabilities.
- Elephants use their sense of smell to communicate. The Tip of the trunk is constantly moving.
- Nostrils are located at the tip of the trunk and function in breathing, smelling and drawing water in to squirt in to the month.
- In experiments in Angola, elephants were able to delete TNT
- Elephants can distinguish between the scents of different groups of people. (Tribes in Africa)
- Elephants can recognise up to 30 family members from their urine.
- Elephants have the highest member of olfactory receptor genes (2000) as compared to 811 in dogs and fewer than 400 in humans and chimpanzees.
- Elephants can detect water sources up to 19.2 KM by smelling.
- Elephants have an olfactory memory longer than 1 year and up to 12 years.
- Elephants can judge food quality merely by using their sense of smell.
- Wandering herds use Odors to decide where to travel. Enticing scents may lure then away from agricultural fields.
- Young males have a sweet scent which comes from the olfactory gland between eyes and ears and containing acetate.
- This helps in telling males that there is no competition.
- Elephants never mate with a sibling even if they have been separated for years and can tell a strange elephant is close by from the smell of their manure or other excretion.
©Srimaa Communication
Credits- Dr. Yashpal Singh, Mrs. Neena Singh, Mr. Rajesh Bedi, Manoj Kumar Yadav