Now, a video shared by an Indian Forest Service officer (IFS) showing how elephants are “killing the heat” has been doing the rounds on the internet.
In the 30-second clip, one can see a large gathering of elephants congregated near what looks like a small pond. The huge beasts, young as well as fully grown ones, are covered in mud and flapping their ears to cool their bodies. The calves are seen jostling about and laying down in the muddy water.
Some fun. This is how they are killing the heat !! pic.twitter.com/rcChYfWChy
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) May 2, 2022
Explaining this behaviour, IFS officer Parveen Kaswan wrote, “This is called as wallowing. Elephants love to do that. It keeps them cool. Elephants don’t have sweat glands but have high volume to surface area ratio and hence heat is generated. So heat dissipation in this manner or by flapping their ears is very important.”
This is called as wallowing. Elephants love to do that. It keeps them cool.
Elephants don’t have sweat glands but have high volume to surface area ratio and hence heat is generated.
So heat dissipation in this manner or by flapping their ears is very important.
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) May 2, 2022
So far the clip has been viewed over 45,000 times. Commenting on the video, a Twitter user wrote, “Sight to behold !! What an honor and privilege to watch these gentle beings in their natural environment.. it’s so important for us to ensure their wellbeing.”
why they’re so cute🙆🏻♀️
— ⚔️Σ•Riya Shekhawat･ั⊹⚔️ (@She20Shekhawat) May 2, 2022
Thanks for sharing this. What amazing sight !
— Ayush Biyani (@biyanicz) May 3, 2022
Baby elephant on the right is like okay brothers, I am done, just leave me here.
— Gaurav Desai 🇮🇳 (@desai_d96) May 2, 2022
The small elephant 🐘 are so so cute. Melts the heart to watch them wallowing and having fun. https://t.co/QNq0Fc98EL
— Damayanti Ganguly (@IndiaDamayanti) May 3, 2022
Did you know elephants can smell water even when it’s underground. Tons of smell receptors in their long trunks
They are truly so awesome! 😊💚 https://t.co/eukGoTwhmG
— Dr. Claudia William MD, MScHAL 🩺💊 (@DrCSWilliam) May 2, 2022
Another Twitter user remarked, “The small elephants 🐘 are so so cute. Melts the heart to watch them wallowing and having fun.”
