How much can the tusks of an elephant measure?
The elephants known as 'super tuskers' have very long fangs. So much, that they practically reach the ground. Today less than thirty survive.
In January 2017, the guards of the Tsavo National Park in Kenya found the body of Satao II. This African elephant, about fifty years old, was one of the last super tuskers, a name that is given to specimens with immense fangs. In some cases, they are about two meters long and even touch the ground. Those of Satao II weighed about 50 kilos.
At present, there are less than thirty of these giants, most of them in the Tsavo conservation area. Of course, its exact location does not spread, because they are irresistible prey for poachers. In fact, despite the surveillance, Satao II was shot down with a poisoned arrow. His body was found before the hunters could seize his ivory. For this same reason, between 20,000 and 30,000 elephants die each year in Africa, according to the figures managed by the World Wildlife Fund.
Your biggest enemy
Elephants can use their fangs to defend themselves. In this sense, they are intimidating, but, in reality, it is the very size of these mammals, the largest among land animals today - they can measure up to four meters in height and weigh seven tons - which protects them against potential predators. Even so, the family group must pay constant attention to the offspring, because, otherwise, they could not survive. In the water, where they spend a lot of time, they are easy prey for crocodiles, although their biggest threat is the lions.
Specialists in harassing the herds in search of young, sick or weakened animals, these felines have developed a refined hunting technique that allows them to capture these proboscideans. According to the studies carried out in the Chobe National Park (Botswana) by the conservationist Dereck Joubert, a renowned expert in the making of nature documentaries, they follow a strategy very similar to the one used to hunt buffalo. First, they run to the herd from several directions and disperse the animals to separate the possible prey. When they get it, they surround it and try to knock it down. Once on the ground, it has little chance of surviving the attack.
The young specimens that move around the periphery of the group are the most vulnerable. In addition, Joubert observed, the behavior of the herd varies if it is a female or a male. In this last case, even if everything happens less than fifty meters from the other elephants, adults do not usually intervene. The smaller pups, under constant surveillance of their mothers, are more difficult to hunt.
Natural Swiss Army Knife
The elephants also use their fangs to clear branches and trunks and move them. However, the most versatile tool of these animals is the trunk. This works as if it were a Swiss army knife: it serves to breathe, smell, touch, grab, eat, drink and even play. It is the result of a fusion between the upper lip and the nose, and its more than 40,000 muscles - the human body has about 650 - give it enormous flexibility and great strength, as it can lift up to 350 kilos.
