Elephants in Uganda are one of the largest land mammal and perhaps the most durable icon of nature’s grace and with strength. They are one of the attractions found in almost all the national parks in Uganda which are interesting and lovable animals. There are 5000 elephants in Uganda as we talk today.
Facts about elephants
Elephants have around 150,000 muscle units in their trunk. Their trunks are perhaps the most sensitive organ found in any mammal, where by they use trunks to suck up water to drink – it can contain up to 8 litres of water and also snorkel when swimming.
Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth which first appear when elephants are around 2 years old. Tusks continue growing throughout their lives used to help with feeding , prising bark off trees or digging up roots even in defense when fighting. But these beautiful tusks often cause elephants danger. They’re made from ivory; a much desired object.
An elephant’s skin is 2.5cm thick in most places. The folds and wrinkles in their skin can retain up to 10 times more water than flat skin does, which helps to cool them down. They keep their skin clean and protect themselves from sunburn by taking regular dust and mud baths.
Elephants eat grasses, leaves, shrubs, fruits and roots depending on the season and their habitat. When it’s particularly dry, elephants will eat more woody parts of trees and shrubs like twigs, branches and barks. They need to eat up to 150kg of food per day that’s why areas where they be living have few vegetation because of how they consume a lot, they can spend up to three-quarters of their day just eating.
Elephants communicate in a variety of ways – including sounds like trumpet calls (some sounds are too low for people to hear), body language, touch and scent. They can also communicate through seismic signals, sounds that create vibrations in the ground, which they may detect through their bones.
The elephant’s temporal lobe, the brain associated with memory is large and stores a lot of memory hence the saying ‘elephants never forget’. This so true because of their good memory that it can easily know the person who hurt its family in years back and it will eventually react. This is the most interesting fact about them.
You can use bees to prevent elephants from attacking your plantations because they are not fans so one can construct beehives.
Areas where to find elephants in Uganda
There are two genetically different African subspecies i.e. the savanna elephant and forest elephant all found in Uganda.
While on a wildlife safari in Uganda, the Savanna Elephant can be encountered and viewed in Kidepo Valley National Park, Murchison Falls National Park Queen Elizabeth national park, Mgahinga Gorilla Park, Semuliki national Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Kibale Forest national park apart from lake Mburo national park.