Fast Facts: Elephants – Part II

Carl Kerby

Welcome to Fast Facts with Reasons for Hope! I’m Carl Kerby and, today, we’re talking about the elephant.

So, what’s this about being able to tell which type of elephant we’re looking at from its head, ears, and tip of its trunk? Great question, thanks for asking.

Before we get into that, did you know that elephants are just one of four animals, other than humans, that can recognize themselves in a mirror?

That’s right! The elephant joins humans, dolphins, some of the great apes, and the amazing… magpie in being able to accomplish this seemingly simple task.

To differentiate between the two species of elephants, first, look at the head.  

The Asian elephant’s head has two bumps on the top, while the African elephant’s head is flat.

As for the ears, the Asian elephant’s ears are quite a bit smaller than its African counterpart. The African elephant’s ears look very similar to the African continent!

And, what about the trunk? Well, the Asian elephant has only one “finger” on the tip of its trunk, while the African elephant has two.

And, speaking of the trunk, that deserves an entire episode on its own so we’ll talk about that in the next Fast Facts with Reasons for Hope. Until then, stay bold!

Carl Kerby is the founder of Reasons for Hope and co-creator of the DeBunked apologetic video series. His radio feature, Fast Facts, is heard weekly on VCY America, Saturdays at 9:25 AM Central.

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