The elephant’s trunk, a remarkable and complex organ, often leads to a common misunderstanding regarding its role in respiration. While central to an elephant’s existence, the trunk is not the primary breathing apparatus in the same way lungs function in other mammals. Instead, it serves as a highly specialized extension that facilitates air intake and a multitude of other behaviors.
How Elephants Breathe
Elephants breathe using their lungs, much like most other mammals. Air enters the elephant’s respiratory system primarily through the two nostrils located at the tip of its trunk. This air then travels through internal nasal passages within the trunk to reach the lungs.
Elephants are primarily nasal breathers, relying on their trunks for respiration. Their lungs are uniquely adapted, directly attaching to the chest cavity wall and diaphragm without a pleural cavity. This specialized structure allows elephants to generate high lung pressures and aids their ability to submerge underwater, using their trunks as snorkels.
The Trunk’s Versatile Functions
The elephant’s trunk is a versatile tool, enabling many functions. It serves as a highly sensitive sensory organ, capable of detecting scents and feeling objects. Elephants use their trunks as an “olfactory periscope” to survey their environment for food, water, or other elephants.
For feeding, the trunk precisely grasps vegetation, tears off branches, and picks up even small items like a single blade of grass. When drinking, elephants do not use their trunks like straws; instead, they suck water into the trunk, which can hold up to 10 liters, and then curl it to squirt the water into their mouths. They can draw water at a speed of three liters per second.
The trunk is also important for hygiene and thermoregulation, used to spray water or dust onto their bodies for cooling and protection from the sun. In social interactions, elephants use their trunks for tactile communication, such as caressing, greeting, comforting, or even guiding younger elephants. Trumpeting sounds are produced by pushing air through the trunk.
The Anatomy of the Trunk
The elephant’s trunk is formed from the fusion of its nose and upper lip. It lacks bones or cartilage, functioning as a “muscular hydrostat,” similar to a human tongue or an octopus arm. This allows for immense flexibility and strength.
The trunk is composed of an estimated 40,000 individual muscles. This musculature enables the trunk to perform a wide range of movements, from delicately picking up a small object to lifting weights up to 340 kilograms. The tip of the trunk also features specialized projections: African elephants have two finger-like structures, while Asian elephants possess a single one, which aids in manipulation.