What are some behavioral adaptations of the elephant?

Answer 1

Elephants have a large social structure. The females herd together in family groups to raise the calves separate from the males. A calf will grow up spending its years with it mother, aunts, sisters, and female cousins. If the calf is a female, it may stay in the herd. If it is a male, it will eventually leave.

Elephants migrate through the seasons to follow where the water will be. They have regular routes that they use year after year. The prior generations will teach the younger elephants the route.

Elephants live in hot climates and have large bodies. They have adapted behaviors to cool themselves. They will use their trunks to spray their bodies with water or to dust their bodies with dirt. They will also submerge in water if they can find it. They will also flap their ears, fanning themselves, to lower their body temperature.

When there are perceived threats, an elephant herd will move the smaller calves or weaker elephants towards the center of the herd for more protection.