elephants

Respiration- Most mammals have what is called a plueral cavity that helps them breathe. Over time, elephants have adapted so now they do not have one. Their lungs are attached directly to the chest cavity wall and the diaphragm. The elephants make their lungs expand and relax by moving the muscles in its chest. This is a reflex that the animal does without being aware.

Fun Fact: elephants will breathe out an average of 81 gallons of air every minute

Circulation- An elephants circulatory system is very similar to that of a human, just on a very increase seismic scale. Elephants hemoglobin have an increased affinity for oxygen compared to other mammals which eases the amount of work that the heart needs to do since the blood being carried to the organs and tissues is much richer in oxygen. The ventricles within an elephants heart are separated at their apex. They also have paired venae cavae

fun fact: an elephants heart beats about 28 times a minute

Fun Fact: elephants spend 12-18 hours a day eating and can eat over 440 pounds of food in a day.

Digestion and Nutrition- an elephants diet varies from sugarcane to bananas, to grass and ferns. They have to eat about 250 kilograms of food every day. They use their trunks to squeeze piles of lose particles together into a solid object. After they move the food to their mouth, they use 4 massive molars to grind the food. It then passes through the esophagus and into the stomach. In the large intestine is where the digestion takes place with the help of bacteria.

Support, Protection, and Movement- An elephants main threat is a human. They use their trunks and tusks to help protect themselves. They also use loud noises to scare away threats. The backbone is where soft tissues are "hung". Elephants have a very strong vertebrae. They have 20 ribs which extend along most of the backbone and form an enormous barrel shaped cage. The legs of an elephant are like walking on sturdy pillars. The majority of the marrow cavities in an elephants leg bones have been replaced with a spongy bone that helps with the legs great strength and relatively light weight. Elephants do not have collar bones, they rely on their massive shoulder blades to provide support for muscles from the forelimbs.

Osmotic Regulation, Excretion and Temperature regulation-

Kidneys are the main osmoregulatory organ. Kidneys help to filter blood and purify it. Oxygen allows the kidney cells to efficiently manufacture chemical energy in the form of ATP through aerobic respiration. The filtrate coming out of the kidneys is called urine. Elephants large ears help in temperature regulation. When the flap their ears, it creates a breeze across the body and also helps circulate the blood in the ears. Elephants have very few sweat glands to help keep them cool but the ones that they do have are located on the foot. If you look at an elephant on a hot day, you may see a wet area around the top of their toenails.

Mating behaviors- Elephants will rub their bodies on each other and even wrap trunks. The females tend to run away from the males and he will have to pursue her. This can continue on for a very long time before the actual mating will actually occur. The male elephants will fan their ears more when they are ready to mate than at other times. This allows them to get their scent out there to a wider distance.

Reproduction- Females are reproductively receptive for about 3 weeks, but conception is only possible 3-5 days of that time. Competition for potential mates is settled by bulls through a trial of strength, usually pushing, tusking, wrestling, and ramming.

Development- The baby stage lasts from birth until the elephant has been weaned off its mother’s milk completely. This can be anywhere between 5 and 10 years of age. For the first 3-5 years, most calves are totally dependant on their mothers for their nutrition, hygiene, migration and health. This period is used to teach the young one all they will need to know about the herd and their environment in order to be able to survive alone. The adolescent stage occurs until they are about 17 years old. It is during this stage that the elephants reach sexual maturity. Adolescence is the time in which young elephants begin to break away from the main herd. 

Adulthood usually begins around 18 years. During adulthood, many of the men tend to wander from the main herd in search of new females with whom to mate. The female elephants will remain with the matriarchal pod, sticking together and assisting one another with nursing and caring for calves