Why Baby Elephants Are The Cutest Baby Animals Ever
As National Elephant Appreciation Day approaches, we list very good reasons why baby elephants are the cutest babies of the animal kingdom!
We’ll be celebrating National Elephant Appreciation Day on September 22. It’s a time to recognize and appreciate these beautiful creatures and their importance to the animal kingdom. Elephants have an extraordinary capacity for emotional intelligence and empathy, and this is shown time and time again especially from adult female elephants to their young.
Aside from this, baby elephants are super cute! With their little trunks and big ears, they certainly have a way to win over even the toughest of hearts. Sorry puppies and kittens, we think the cutest babies of the animal kingdom are pachyderm. Here’s why.
Baby elephants are super close to their mothers
A baby elephant is called a calf. It weighs about 250 pounds at birth and stands about three feet tall. Calves can’t see very well at first, but they can recognize their mothers by touch, scent, and sound.
Baby elephants stay very close to their mothers for the first couple of months. The calves drink their mother’s milk for about two years, sometimes longer. They drink up to three gallons of milk a day! At about four months old, they also begin eating some plants, like adult elephants, but they continue to need as much milk from their mother. We think it’s one of the adorable things how attached they are to their mothers, who immediately know if their young are in any distress.
They suck their trunks like a human baby sucks their thumbs
At first, baby elephants don’t really know what to do with their trunks. They swing them to and fro and sometimes even step on them. They will suck their trunk just as a human baby might suck its thumb!
By about 6 to 8 months, calves begin learning to use their trunks to eat and drink. By the time they are a year old, they can control their trunks pretty well and, like adult elephants, use their trunks for grasping, eating, drinking, bathing.
Baby elephants are really smart
Baby elephants are cute, there are no two ways about that. But, they are also highly evolved and one of the most advanced species when it comes to their newborn capabilities. Female elephants have the longest gestation period of all mammals, lasting as long as 23 months! After spending so long being nurtured by their mummies bellies, it’s no surprise that baby elephants are pretty smart little babies when they are finally welcomed to the world.
Luckily, the female elephant community is social and supportive, with young calves being tended to not only by their mothers but also by other females in the herd. When a new baby is born, all of the females in the group trumpet the news and announce the new arrival. Within minutes of being born, the calf must stand on its own four feet, literally. Much more so than other animals, elephant babies exclusively learn how to adapt to their new surroundings by following the behavior of their mothers over a long period of time.
What did we do to deserve baby elephants and all the cuteness they bestow on the world? Make sure you spend National Elephant Appreciation Day learning all about the animals and raising awareness to ensure their survival.