The square-cube law imposes a theoretical limit on how big animals can be, as Live Science previously reported. Scientists believe the weight limit for land animals is around 120 tons (109 metric tons).
Why do elephants have big ears and a long trunk
The African savannah elephants are the largest, their weight can exceed 6 tons.
With the help of a trunk, an elephant can lift huge weights, wash itself and fight off predators. Elephants live on average up to 70 years. A pregnancy in a female elephant lasts up to 12 months. Elephants are smart animals, they can even hold a grudge and remember the offender.
What is an elephant's trunk for
With the help of the trunk, the elephant puts food in his mouth and drinks, taking water into the trunk, he bends it and sends water to his mouth. Also, with the help of a trunk, an elephant can cool off in the heat by taking water with it and releasing it on its back, as if from a shower.
Elephants sleep standing up and little
A gyroscope on the neck showed whether the elephant was sleeping standing up or lying down, and GPS tracked the movements of the herd. It turned out that in their natural habitat, elephants sleep for a maximum of two hours, and often standing up. On the ground, they fit only once every three to four days and spend in this position for about an hour.
