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The reason why dogs and birds pant through their mouths and elephants flap their large ears, is to control (reduce) their temperature.

Some animals can sweat through their skins and cool themselves as this sweat evaporates from their skin.

However, dogs, birds and elephants (and perhaps some other animals) can not sweat so they either evaporate water in their mouths or pump blood into their 'radiator' sized ears to cool themselves.

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12y ago

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Why do elephants have long big ears?

African elephants live in a hotter climate than indian or asian elephants. Since elephants don't sweat they flap their ears to cool the blood vessels down as much as 10degrees.The Asian elephant has smaller ears because in Asia there are more trees to keep shade but in Africa there are less trees so the African elephant has to keep cool by swaying his or her ears back and forth to make a breeze.


Why do elephants have such big ears?

They have big ears so that when theyflap them they can keep themselves coolThey are not to hear things with which are really small they do a normal job of hearing things and they can flap them to keep cool


How do an elephants use its huge ears to keep cool?

an elephant uses its ears to keep cool by flapping them around its head therefor keeping it cool


How do elephants use its huge ears to keep cool?

an elephant uses its ears to keep cool by flapping them around its head therefor keeping it cool


Why does an elephant flap its ears?

One important reason for elephants flapping their ears is to regulate their body temperature. Elephant ears have an extensive network of blood vessels all over them. When it is hot they flap their ears which cause air to move across them. This in turn cools the surface blood vessels; this cooler blood then circulates around the elephant's body. The temperature of the blood passing through the ears can be reduced by as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before being returned to the body. Elephants that originated in warmer climates have bigger ears then those that belong in cooler conditions. They are also used as a display of aggression to make the elephant look bigger in an effort to intimidate predators or rivals. It is also theorised that they are used to fan a scent produced by the musth gland (which is just behind the eyes)


How do eliphants use their ears to keep cool?

they flap them and then they have a nice breeze because they are so big=) CORRECT ANSWER: The tissue in a elephant's ears is very thin with large blood vessels right at the surface. When an elephant is too warm, their overheated blood travels through the large vessels in the ear. By flapping their ears, the surface area cools a bit and excess heat from the blood is released into the air. In this way, the blood is cooled down and then recirculated into the elephants body, helping keep their body temperature down. This cooling strategy is aided by the size of the ears and the speed at which an elephant moves it ears.


Why do elephants have pointy ears?

Have you ever noticed how big an elephant's ears are? They're like giant flaps! Elephants' big floppy ears usually measure about 22 square feet in size. - Wow! Although you might think they use these giant ears for better hearing, elephants actually mostly use their big ears for cooling down when it's hot! Because elephants are so big and generally live in hot places like Africa or India, they need a little extra help when it comes to cooling off. Elephant ears are full of veins, the little passageways in the body that are responsible for moving blood around. By flapping their wet ears, the many veins in their ears are cooled, and so is the blood inside those veins! The cooled blood then travels all around the elephant, and can help lower the elephant's body temperature by as much as almost 10 degrees Fahrenheit! That might not sound like a lot, but when it comes to body temperature it's actually a pretty COOL amount!


Why do elephants have large ears?

so they can hear better The elephants ears are equivalent to the radiators in our cars. As the elephant flaps its ears, the blood that is flowing through the vessels in the elephants ears gets cooled. The bigger the ear better the cooling mechanism.


Why very big ears could be a disadvantage for elephant which lives in a dense forest?

In a dense forest,it is already cool enough for the elephant.Having a bigger ear will lose more heat,but instead the ears should be smaller so it would not lose too mch heat.


How big is an African Elephants ear?

African Elephant's ears are 42 in. (107 cm) in diameter. Indian elephants have smaller ears. They keep the elephant cool. Elephants' ears are thin-skinned and rich in blood vessels. The ears of some African elephants are nearly 2 meters long and almost as wide, much bigger than those of Indian elephants. When an African elephant waves its ear flaps, it can lower the temperature of the blood flowing within them by as much as 5 degrees Celcius. Indian elephants are essentially creatures of shady forests. They don't have to endure the high temperatures that African elephants encounter on their sunburnt grasslands, so they do not need such large ears.


Can snakes listen?

Of course. Snakes ears, but they do not protrude out of the body like those of mammals. Like birds, snake's ears are holes in their head covered by a protective flap of skin so they are not visible.


How does an elephant use it's huge ears to keep cool?

Elephant ears have a very large surface area to volume ratio - with blood vessels spread out throughout. This means that the blood vessels are close to the surface, allowing for heat to radiate out. Elephants can also use their ears to fan themselves with - they are large so create a nice breeze.