Animal
Asian elephant
A grasping trunk, a plant-based diet and bathing in the world of an Asian giant.
Content language
An elephant’s trunk developed from the nose and upper lip. It grasps objects, collects food and water, and communicates with other elephants. A single organ therefore performs tasks for which many other animals use several different body parts. The Asian elephant mainly eats grasses, leaves, small branches and fruit. An adult can consume as much as 200 kilograms of food in a day.
Digestion is not especially efficient, so searching for plants and eating can take up much of the day, sometimes 18-20 hours. Walking through forests leaves well-trodden passages that other animals and people later use. Elephants are good swimmers and also enjoy muddy pools. At the Orientarium, a pool allows visitors to observe their movement in water.
The first elephant to arrive at the Orientarium was Aleksander from Münster Zoo. He can be recognised by his single tusk. His arrival began the formation of Łódź’s elephant group, and the pavilion offers views of both their land and underwater world. In the wild, the main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation, together with poaching.
For children
An elephant’s trunk combines its nose and upper lip. It uses the trunk to pick up food, collect water and communicate with other elephants. It performs many different tasks, even though it is not a hand.
This large plant-eater feeds on grasses, leaves, fruit and small branches. An adult may need as much as 200 kilograms of food a day. Finding and eating it takes many hours. As elephants walk through forests, they make paths that other forest animals use later.
Elephants are also good in water. They have their own pool at the Orientarium. The first elephant to arrive here was Aleksander, from Münster in Germany. He has one tusk. You can compare his movements on land with those during a bath, if he happens to be using the pool.
Question 1 of 2
Which body parts combined to form the trunk?
- Location
- Orientarium, Indian zone and elephant pool.