Thanks to their trunks, elephants are able to grasp small pieces of food with great skill. However, you probably didn’t know that elephants can grab almost anything with their trunks by inhaling. According to new research by the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, the United States, elephants can inhale at speeds of more than 540 kilometers per hour, which is more than 30 times the speed of the air expelled during a human sneeze.
Similarly, elephants can expand their nostrils to hold more water or food. In fact, according to the study, this allows them to increase the interior space by approximately 64%.
Elephant Trunk Facts
The trunk of an elephant, although it weighs around 100 kilograms, is capable of very delicate tasks: from painting “self-portraits” to grabbing cereal flakes by pinching them at the tip of the trunk, as Livescience magazine states.
Thus, previous research concluded that elephants can blow air through their trunks to manipulate food that is out of reach, and the scientists in this new research wondered if elephants also used their trunks as a vacuum cleaner.
Investigation Development
Using three video cameras, the scientists recorded an African elephant at the Atlanta Zoo, presenting her with some of her favorite foods. They then recorded video and carried out ultrasound measurements of the trunk as it sipped water from an aquarium.
Likewise, the elephant inhaled to lift multiple small objects. When there were more than 10 small pieces, the elephant used suction to pick them up, making a loud sucking sound, as the study authors argue.
For the more delicate chips, the elephant used suction in two ways: by sucking the chips (remotely) or by placing her trunk directly on the chips and then applying suction to lift them.
Study conclusion
According to the team of researchers, elephants can suck food because their respiratory system adapts to an unusually high lung pressure, generating air velocity unmatched among land animals.
For example, human lungs can generate enough suction to lift a small piece of paper. And, if we wanted to lift a slightly heavier object, we should get within a millimeter of the target. However, even in this way we may not be able to suck strongly, as any fluid leakage between the object and the nose would make lifting unfeasible.
