All the images in this post were taken during activities from Africa on Foot, a Sun Destinations property.
What does the word pachyderm mean?
Pachydermos in Greek means “having thick skin”, from pachys, meaning “thick,” and derma, meaning “skin.”
In the late 1700s, the French naturalist Georges Cuvier adapted the Greek term pachyderm for any one of a whole assemblage of hoofed animals having thickish skin: elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, horses, pigs, and more.
English speakers learned the word from the French in the early 1800s.
As an adjective, pachydermatous, it means “callous” or “insensitive” which is somewhat unfair to elephants, which are known to be rather sensitive creatures.
The foot of the African elephant is constructed in such a way that the animal is almost walking on tip-toe.
Yet an elephant footprint is probably the most easily recognised in the bush.
It has no intrinsic value, but its cultural uses make ivory highly prized. In Africa, it has been a status symbol for millennia because it comes from elephants, a highly respected animal, and because it is fairly easy to carve into works of art.
Elephants require approximately 70- 100L of water daily but may consume up to 152 L.
An adult bull elephant can consume up to 212 L per day.
Why do elephants even have trunks? Elephants use their trunks for many reasons, including breathing, drinking, feeding grabbing, smelling and trumpeting. Because of this, an elephant’s chance of survival without its trunk, or part of its trunk, is very slim (although not unheard of).
Elephant calves are not born with the ability to use their trunk.
It takes time and patience, and it can be fun to watch when they come to drink and try to emulate the adults, usually without success.
From 6 to 8 months, calves begin to understand what can be done with their facial appendage!
By the time they are a year old, they have their trunk under control and can utilize it for grasping, eating, drinking and bathing.
For example, elephants use their tails to communicate with each other; much like a dog, a swishing or wagging tail can signify happiness or excitement. Baby ellies sometimes hold on to the tail of older elephants while they are walking, for guidance and security on long walks.
Elephants have what are known as “padded” or “cushioned” feet. Their feet consist of a thick layer of fatty tissue and connective tissue underneath the bones.
Each foot has 5 toes, but not every toe has a nail. The African forest elephant and the Asian elephant both have 5 toenails on the front feet and 4 on the back feet. Their feet are flat because of a large pad of gristle under each heel which acts as a shock absorber and helps them walk quietly.
The African bush elephants‘ wrinkled skin is one of its most defining characteristics. The purpose of this patchwork pattern—it helps the animal stay cool by retaining moisture better than smooth skin—is well-known in the scientific community, but the secrets of its formation have eluded researchers.
Elephants have long eyelashes to help avert blowing sand, dirt, and debris from the eyes. In addition to the upper and lower eyelids, elephants have a “third eyelid” which moves vertically across the eye. These eyelids function to protect the eye when feeding, bathing, and dusting (cooling down).
They serve a variety of purposes: digging, lifting objects, gathering food, stripping bark from trees to eat, and defense. The tusks also protect the trunk
Fun with words…
Seeing that the elephants had spent a large part of their day hydrating, I took a page from their playbook and made certain that I too drank sufficiently during the day.
However, I could not leave the blocks alone.
The only word I could make with the letters was WRATE: And yes it is a word.
It is an old English word that means calm, peaceful, serene, tranquil and composed.
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