When it comes to size, according to Mary Ellen Holden, a zoologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the African elephant is the land animal with the largest ears on the planet. However, the animal with the largest ears (relative to its body) is the long-eared gerbil ( euchoreutes naso ), a small nocturnal rodent that feeds on insects and that lives mainly in the deserts of China and Mongolia.
The long-eared gerbil measures approximately four inches from head to rump, not counting its large tail. In addition, their ears can be between three and five centimeters long. That is, between 40 and 50% the length of your entire body. In Holden’s words, it has the longest ears relative to its body size in the entire animal kingdom.
In fact, the African elephant’s ears are over a meter long. But, according to the zoologist, that is only 17% of their body length, since elephants are approximately six to seven meters tall.
Why are their ears so big?
The large ears help gerbils and other mammals that live in warm areas to get rid of excess heat. As Ellen Holden argues, fennec foxes, long-eared gerbils, and African elephants are capable of thermoregulation through their ears, as the ears are large and have many blood vessels. As it circulates through the ears, the blood releases heat into the air, which helps the animal cool down.
On the other hand, when it is cold or at night, the blood vessels of these animals contract to keep warm. Thus, the researchers consider that using the ears to cool off is a good adaptation to desert life, as it serves as an alternative to sweat and allows species to conserve water in an environment where this resource is scarce.
