I absolutely love elephants. I don’t want to be one of those “I knew about it first!” people, but I have loved them since I was little, so this is no – just because they are in right now – obsession. My love for elephants has never really gone past admiration and basic information, so when given the opportunity to write about whatever I want (on a science related basis), I thought hey, why not elephants.

Given the appearance of an elephant, I have always wondered one thing: why are an elephant’s ears so big? Although they are the largest land animals, compared to most creatures, their ears are completely out of proportion to their body. An elephant’s ears are one sixth of their body size, which, in any other instance, would seem ridiculous. (I mean, can you imagine if OUR ears were one-sixth our body size?) The reason behind sure enormity is actually quite fascinating. Because of an elephant’s size and typical environmental climate, it is important for them to stay cool. Their huge ears allow them to release body heat and cycle cold air in. So, an elephants ears are essential their personal air conditioners!

If you look at the inside of an elephant’s ear, there is a spider web like pattern of blood vessels. Elephant ears are very thin, which allows the blood vessels a better exposure to the outside environment. So when the blood flows through these vessels at a warmer temperature than the outside temperature, the heat is released from their body to help them stay cool. This is due to the 2nd law of thermodynamics, which states that heat flows from areas of high heat, to areas of low heat. The other aspect of this person air conditioning system is bringing cold air in. Because of the size of their ears, elephants can use them as fans. By flapping their ears that create a light breeze that aids the cooling process. These two amazing aspects of elephant’s ears allow them to cool their bodies up to nine degree Fahrenheit!

Along with air conditioning, elephants also use their ears for better hearing, by using them to funnel sound into their inner ear. They also use them to make threats by extending them and flapping them, making themselves even bigger and more intimidating towards predators (although, elephants have no true predators in the wild). Elephants are truly amazing creatures, and I encourage everyone to further research them. Their huge ears are a small piece of what makes them so unique and beautiful.

Fun Fact: The feature photos are my own work, taken last year on safari throughout different parts of Africa!

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