Newborn Elephants’ Fascinating Trunk-Sucking Behavior
NEWBORN ELEPHANTS – Here is an explanation for why young Elephants instinctively engage in the behavior of s*cking on their trunks.
Pictures of baby elephants always create excitement on the web, but snapshots of them appearing to s*ck their trunks never fail to captivate viewers. This prompts the question of whether baby elephants genuinely engage in this behavior, sparking our curiosity and leading us to conduct some investigation.
Our findings reveal that the endearing image holds true. Baby elephants do indeed suckle their trunks, akin to how human babies suck their thumbs, for the purpose of seeking comfort. Similar to newborn humans, elephant calves possess a powerful sucking reflex, guiding them instinctively when in proximity to their mother’s teat.
S*cking = Food
S*cking = Mom
Hence, suckling signifies comfort. During periods when a young elephant is not nursing, it may resort to sucking its trunk, reminiscent of a human infant using a pacifier.
Beyond the comfort factor, trunk suckling aids in an elephant calf’s comprehension of utilizing and managing this lengthy appendage. Given the intricate nature of the trunk, housing over 50,000 individual muscles, it becomes crucial for the calf to learn how to command and coordinate these muscles effectively.
Furthermore, elephants leverage trunk suckling as a form of sophisticated “smelling.” By touching their trunks to urine or feces and subsequently tasting them, they can detect the pheromones of other elephants, enhancing their olfactory experience.
Although trunk suckling is predominantly observed in juvenile elephants, older ones, including mature bulls, have been witnessed engaging in this behavior when feeling anxious or distressed.
Interested in witnessing a baby elephant suckling its trunk? Here’s a video showcasing a baby elephant’s progression in learning how to suckle its trunk.