Elephants had some parts of their bodies that were vulnerable to normal weapons: eyes, trunk, underbelly, hamstrings, and neck were frequently described as weakspots.
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.
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.
The primary threats for West African elephants are habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and poaching.
Aside from humans, lions are the only predators powerful enough to kill an elephant. The males, being 50% heavier than the females, are especially suited to the task. It typically takes seven lionesses to kill an elephant, but just two males could do the same.
Elephants can get mad for a variety of reasons, just like humans get mad on bad days. For instance, they may have encountered poachers in their last human interaction- and that could influence their behavior. They could also be hungry, hurt or scared. You definitely don't want to spook an elephant!
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.
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.
Once common throughout Africa and Asia, elephant populations have experienced significant declines over the last century. The greatest threat to African elephants is poaching for the illegal ivory trade, while Asian elephant populations are most at risk from habitat loss and resulting human-elephant conflict.
They figure out dominance by fighting. This fighting can range from mild, playful pushing to raging battles to the death.
Even though they fearlessly stand up to lions, the mere buzzing of bees is enough to send a herd of elephants running off.
Because male lions are more likely to attack. (See: "Older Elephants Know the Best Anti-Lion Moves.") Not many predators can take down an elephant, so it's useful for the massive mammals to know when it's worth their effort to run away.
Researchers believe elephants' good memories are a big part of how elephants survive and why so many live so long (50 to 60 years or more on average). Those who work closely with elephants also have noticed that elephants remember injuries and can hold grudges against those who have hurt them.
Elephants may be the biggest of all creatures found on land, but believe it or not, even they can react defensively around large predators. For example, a herd of elephants walking through the African savanna will trumpet and chase away a pride of lions that they encounter.
An unarmed human could not win a fight against an elephant.
Simply put, the elephant is too large and powerful for a human to harm without a weapon. If the elephant regards the person as a threat, it will charge, gore, and stomp on the person until they're dead.
An elephant would beat a bear in a fight. Even though we have granted this hypothetical bear the best features of all the various species, the fact remains that they cannot do enough damage to kill an adult elephant. A fully grown bull elephant would most likely smell or hear a bear coming long before it showed up.
Eventually, the elephants make a run towards each other, screaming and trumpeting the whole time. When they finally make contact, they form a loud, rumbling mass of flapping ears, clicked tusks and entwined trunks.
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.
Elephants do grieve, and they are one of the few animals who are similar to humans in mourning patterns. Believe it or not, elephants cry. They bury their dead and pay tribute to the bodies and to the bones.
They know envy and jealousy, can throw tantrums and harbour grudges about a perceived injustice, just like human children. And just like human children, they can be competitive for rank and status amongst their peers.
Some advocacy groups say elephants are crying because they're sad, but scientists say that elephants don't have tear ducts.
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 an elephant vs lion fight. A single lion does not pose much of a threat to a fully grown elephant. The elephant is simply too large for the lion to handle. The only way it could win a fight is if it managed to bite and claw the elephant all over and make it bleed to death.
Although it is not their preferred choice of prey due to their large size, lions can attack elephants. A lion is the only predator powerful enough to kill an elephant.