Does your mom make you wear sunscreen? An elephant’s skin is sensitive to the sun, too. A mother will shadow her baby to help it avoid sunburns. Instead of sunscreen, elephants often cover themselves in mud and dirt to protect their skin. This not only protects them from the sun, but also from insects—and it helps keep them cool.
You probably put your sunscreen on with your hands. The Asian elephant uses its trunk to flip dirt and spray water onto its back. An elephant’s trunk is very important, and it is almost impossible for an elephant to survive if its trunk gets damaged. An elephant drinks by filling its trunk with water and then pouring the water into its mouth. It can also use its trunk to scratch itself, to throw things, to play fight and to scoop up the grasses, leaves, roots and shrubs that it eats. Most importantly, just like you, elephants use their long nose to smell. They can smell not only what might be good for breakfast, but also other animals that might be dangerous.
What else do you think of when you think of elephants? Tusks! Tusks are actually the upper incisor teeth of the elephant. You do not see female Asian elephants with tusks because their incisors don’t grow beyond their upper lip. Not all male Asian elephants have tusks either. Unfortunately, one major reason that Asian elephants have become endangered is because of poaching. This means elephants are hunted and killed mainly for the ivory of their tusks, which can be carved into small statues or other decorations and sold.