Why do elephants have big ears

The most oddly proportioned family member is the long-eared jerboa, first caught on film in the wild in during a Zoological Society of London expedition to the Gobi. With ears that are two-thirds as long as its body , the animal has the largest ears relative to size in the animal kingdom.

Like the elephant and many other species, these giant ears help the jerboa release heat, a vital adaptation in high temperatures. Large ears actually have little to do with echolocation, the bat's built-in sonar that sends out sound waves and detects the echo bouncing off a prey item, such as a moth.

Read how a whispering bat evolved to trick prey. Most echolocation is at a very high frequency, and large ears amplify more low-frequency sounds, like rustling prey, says Aaron Corcoran , a National Geographic Explorer and research assistant professor at Wake Forest University. There are six species of jackrabbit in the western U. The caracal, a long-legged wildcat, ranges from Africa to India and is known for large, sophisticated ears that allow it to locate prey in tall grasses.

While hunting, the predator moves its ears around like a radio antenna, honing in on critters moving underfoot.

Unique ear tufts may then funnel sound down toward the ear before they pounce. The serval, another small African wildcat, has huge, powerful ears that can detect rodents scurrying underground.

Bat-eared foxes of eastern and southern Africa particularly enjoy insects— termites make up 75 percent of their diet. All rights reserved. But don't worry! No elephants were harmed in the cooking process. It's just a silly name for a delicious treat made of flattened, fried dough, which some people think looks a bit like an elephant's ear.

If you can't wait for your next trip to the fair, bring the elephant into your kitchen — or at least his ear — and make your own homemade version of this sweet treat. Did you get it? Test your knowledge. Wonder Words flap fan heat web trunk shady breeze sweat temperature climate endure surface extreme vessel regulate essential efficient Take the Wonder Word Challenge. Join the Discussion. Eldridge Sep 24, Sep 24, Phoebe Apr 9, Phoebe Apr 17, Apr 9, Stellaluna Nov 15, Dec 5, Thanks, Stellaluna!

Is the elephant your favorite animal? I love elephants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mackenzie Jan 30, When I was about to read an arrival I was about to read about space. Then I wanted to do an elephant. Feb 2, Jan 2, Sep 14, Jun 1, Toothbrush Apr 19, Apr 19, Unknown Mar 14, Mar 15, Feb 22, Because they are amazing!

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The elephants hear up to six miles 10 km away from their current location. Elephants communicate using a secret language using a low-pitch voice that our ears cannot pick. Elephants are as noisy as cows on a farm, but since our ears only hear frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, we cannot hear the ultrasonic sounds that elephants produce while communicating. Infrasonic sound waves low frequency have longer wavelengths and can travel up to 5 KMs 3 miles. Moreover, the inner ear structure of the elephants is large, making them able to catch infrasonic sound waves.

The animals will occasionally raise their ears and stand still to listen to other animals and the sounds of nature. They use their super-hearing to forecast the weather. Elephants can hear a storm nearly from KMs away!

When they try to intimidate someone or animals, they spread their ears wide open to show dominance. They use it for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking, and, to grab things such as food. Scientists found that elephants have over 2, genes coding for olfactory receptors.

Oh wow! Too many smelling receptors. That means that they have a great sense of smell; 4 times more sensitive than a bloodhound dog. They use their trunk to find food and water that they can smell from 12 miles around 19 km away. African elephants have two finger-like features on the end of their trunk needed to grasp small objects. However, Asian elephants have only one. These fingers are very strong and precise, allowing them to pick up a tiny peanut, break the shell and then eat the uncrushed nut inside.

Trunks can grow up to 2 meters in length, and they can weigh kg pounds. Rings of cartilage support the two nostrils all along the trunk. The trunk does not have bones. Therefore, elephants can move their flexible trunk in whatever direction they need to. The trunk alone contains about 40, muscles compared to humans With all those muscles, the trunk can lift objects of kgs pounds. Elephants also fill their trunk with water and transfer this water into their mouth.

An elephant can hold up to 2 gallons 7. Elephants like to swim to cool off in the water. They use their trunk as snorkels to allow them to breathe. Elephants are emotionally intelligent and they have deep family bonds. Elephants do many different things with their big ears. One thing is that they can cool themselves down when they are hot. The blood flowing through the ears is close to the outside of the elephant body, and heat can be released as they flap them about.

Some scientists also think that the big ears may funnel sound into their inner ear for better hearing. Elephants can also use their big ears to make threats.

When they spread them out wide, elephants look even bigger than they already are, and they can use this posture to threaten other elephants or other animals. Julie Leibach is a freelance science journalist and the former managing editor of online content for Science Friday.