They may be tiny, but ants can bring giant elephants down to their knees, according to a new study that reveals that elephants in the savannah have good reason to be scared of the tiny insects.
The scientists believe that the elephants are afraid of ants for the same reason they are afraid of bees - They do not like getting swarms of them inside their trunks, which are highly sensitive and full of nerve endings. Hence, whenever they get a whiff of these pesky creatures, they just keep their distance.
They can kill an elephant in the same way that they can kill a bird (Which some ants eat). An elephant has a skin thick enough that they're not bothered by most insects. But only on the outside. First, if the ants decide to swarm the Phant, they can blind him by throwing formic acid in its eyes.
In the case of elephants, ants crawl up the inside of their trunks and agitate sensitive nerve endings. “An elephant's trunk is a truly remarkable organ, but also appears to be their Achilles' heel when it comes to squaring off with an angry ant colony,” said Todd M.
Previous studies have found that elephants are not only afraid of ants but also will run away from areas with bees, as soon as they hear them buzzing.
Elephants are afraid of bees. Let that sink in for a second. The largest animal on land is so terrified of a tiny insect that it will flap its ears, stir up dust and make noises when it hears the buzz of a beehive. Of course a bee's stinger can't penetrate the thick hide of an elephant.
Theories abound that elephants are afraid of mice because the tiny creatures nibble on their feet or can climb up into their trunks. However, there's no evidence to back up either of those claims.
But, attention, I'm going to unveil the secret of nature – in the animal kingdom, the ant`s specific force on one unit of weight is much bigger than that of an elephant. Along with the ability in skillful management it allows the anthill to build well-composed social structures that are ideal in productivity.
Given their tremendous size and strength, and because they gather in groups, elephants have few predators to worry about. Lions, hyenas, and crocodiles may attempt to prey on young or sick elephants.
Okay, so here's the conclusion I've reached: no, the ants won't die. And they won't explode when they get to the top, either. "A rat is killed, a man is broken, a horse splashes." Many readers pointed out that ants were too small and weighed way too little for them to suffer any damage when it hit the ground.
Lions are the number one natural enemy of elephants. Lions are elephants' number one natural enemy and another member of the Big Five. While they move and hunt in packs, it is the lionesses that do most of the hunting for everyone, while the male lions protect the pride.
They hate ants.
Despite being the biggest land animals, elephants are frightened of one of the smallest! Although they could easily stomp them, elephants avoid ants because they can easily get into their trunks and wreak havoc on the sensitive nerve endings within.
“We noticed that the elephants were more scared of tigers than of leopards,” says Vivek Thuppil, who carried out the work with Richard Coss, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, as part of his PhD in animal behavior.
These giants are herd-oriented and always on the lookout to protect members of their unit. As a result of their heavy build, it's easy to attribute aggression and hostility to elephants. However, like any other creature, elephants get upset and, when in danger, defend themselves with the tools evolution gave to them.
The scientists think elephants are afraid of bees because they dislike being stung in the soft tissue that's present inside their trunks and around their eyes.
And young calves have thinner skin, so swarms (and African honeybees are notoriously aggressive swarmers) can do real damage. In fact, they have been known to kill African buffalo. Elephants are so terrified of bees they will flap their ears, stir up dust, make a noise and turn and flee.
Lion will usually avoid adult elephant, and attack youngsters only if they have become separated from the herd. However, some prides have learned how to take down full-grown adults under dire circumstances when other food sources are scarce.
Animals with no natural predators are called apex predators, because they sit at the top (or apex) of the food chain. The list is indefinite, but it includes lions, grizzly bears, crocodiles, giant constrictor snakes, wolves, sharks, electric eels, giant jellyfish, killer whales, polar bears, and arguably, humans.
In an elephant vs hippo fight, the elephant is going to win. Assuming both creatures are fully grown adults, the elephant is just too big for the hippo to handle. Hippos are too smart to pick a fight with an elephant, so they have no idea what it takes to bring one down.
An elephant would win in a fight against a gorilla. Gorillas are certainly powerful and smart animals, but they lack any definitive means of killing an elephant. Unless they happened upon an elephant lying down and managed to inflict severe bites to them, a gorilla simply would not stand a chance.
An elephant would win in a tiger vs elephant fight. The tiger is undoubtedly a fierce beast, and it might stand the best chance out of all other land-dwelling animals of successfully hunting an adult elephant. Yet, the elephant's size and power are simply indomitable.
Elephant
In brute strength, elephants are the strongest mammals and the strongest land animals. African elephants can weigh up to 6,350kg and they can carry up to 9,000kg, the weight of 130 adult humans.
Lions have few predators to fear other than humans. A very young or sickly lion might fall prey to hyenas. Cubs may be attacked and eaten by adult male lions. Lions are most threatened by humans who hunt them and encroach on their habitat.
Roman author and teacher Aelian confirmed that elephants were frightened by squealing pigs and rams with horns, and reported that the Romans exploited both squealing pigs and horned rams to repel the war elephants of Pyrrhus in 275 BCE.
Our hypothesis is: both African and Asian elephants (Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus) are capable of experiencing the same dimensions of pain as do humans (i.e., sensory-discriminative and affective-motivational).