Fun Elephant Facts for Kids

You might know us for our pool liners and removable pool fence, but did you also know that our safety pool covers are known as the “The ELEPHANT™ Cover” because they are strong enough to support an elephant, as seen in our advertisements? The world’s largest land animals also absolutely love the water, and use their trunk as a snorkel to breathe in deep water. Here are some other fun facts about elephants for kids!

 

• Elephants are the only mammal that is not able to jump.

 

• Elephants do not like peanuts. They do not eat them in their natural habitat, and zoos do not feed them to elephants in captivity.

 

• A baby elephant can weigh up to 200 pounds—which is more than some adults!

 

• Elephants can live to be over 70 years old.

 

• Male elephants need more than 70,000 calories in a day.

 

• Elephants care for each other. If one elephant is sick, other elephants will keep it company.

 

• Female elephants live in groups. A matriarch, usually the oldest mother, takes charge by choosing the group’s place to sleep as well as where to seek food. Momma elephants take care of the baby elephants together. Male elephants mostly live alone or in male groups.

 

• Elephants can become dangerous creatures if they are angered or frightened.

 

• An elephant’s skin is one-inch thick.

 

• Elephant’s brains are highly developed. Their brains are three to four times larger than a human’s brain.

 

• An elephant heart’s average weight ranges from approximately 27 to 46 pounds.

 

• An elephant’s pulse rate is slow at 27. In comparison, a canary has a pulse rate of 1,000.

 

• An elephant’s eyesight is very poor. To compensate for this, they have an amazing sense of smell.

 

• An elephant purrs to communicate just like cats do.

 

• Of all the animals in the world, an elephant carries its baby the longest. A female elephant takes 22 months to give birth! And, even though she can have a baby at age 16, a female elephant will rarely have more than four children throughout her lifetime.

 

• An elephant’s tusks serve as its incisor teeth. They use them to dig for water, lift things, and for defense.

 

• An elephant prefers one tusk over another, just like people are either right- or left-handed.

 

• Elephants can drink up to 80 gallons of water in one day.

 

• An elephant’s trunk has many uses—one of the most important being to siphon water. An elephant’s trunk can hold up to 2½ gallons of water. But, elephants don’t drink water with their trunks like you might think. They fill their trunks with water, then use them as hoses to pour water into their mouths.

 

• An elephant takes a bath by sucking water to spray over its body. Then, it will use its trunk to spray dirt and mud over its wet body. When it dries, it serves as sunscreen for the elephant.

 

• Elephants wave their trunks both up in the air—and side to side—to smell things better.

 

We hope you enjoyed reading about these fun facts about our unofficial mascot. Remember, elephants love the water just as much as we do!