Normal body temperature in an elephant. Climatic conditions are suitable for elephants. Video: Effective raw food diet
In the evenings, at exactly five o'clock, at the northern outskirts of the Kenyan national park Nairobi, a magical and mysterious, at first glance, action happens. Employees hang colorful woolen blankets from the knotted branches of croton trees. Loud and clear people are shouting: “Kalama! Kitirua! Olare!" And then a group of elephants emerges from the thickets of bushes: eighteen brown heads with large hanging ears. They slowly approach and stop at trees marked with colored blankets, while caretakers shelter each baby elephant to keep him warm before returning home to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's Nairobi Nursery. Elephants are brought here from all over Kenya, many of which have been victims of poachers or clashes with people, and nurse the babies until they begin to feed on their own.
Baby elephants need warmth and help from their parents or people. They don't know how to keep warm. Later, when elephants grow up, they develop a unique ability to regulate their body temperature. Both when it is cool and when it is very hot, the temperature of the elephant keeps well within a rather narrow range of about 36 ± 2 °C, i.e. close to the temperature of the human body. This system of thermal control has been a mystery for many years and the subject of study by biologists. The problem is that for their huge weight (up to 12 tons in adulthood), elephants have a relatively small body surface and thick skin to cool themselves in the heat by air convection. In addition, elephants lack sweat glands, which play a primary role in keeping some mammals cool in hot weather. Therefore, there are concerns that the metabolic internal mechanism for maintaining temperature may not be able to cope with the load. Meanwhile, African elephants live in one third of the African continent, and the temperature in some places in Namibia and Mali can reach 50 ° C during the day.
For a long time it was believed that the main role in regulating the body temperature of an elephant is played by the large ears of an elephant. The skin on the ears of an elephant is very thin, with a fine network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants flap their ears, creating a gentle breeze that cools the superficial blood vessels, and then the already cooled blood circulates through the body. The differences in ear size between African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographic location. Africans live near the equator, where it is very hot, that's why they have such big ears. Asians live much further north and their ears are much smaller. An important role in cooling the elephant in the heat is also played by the trunk, with which the elephants are poured with water.
However, in 2010, a study by scientists from the universities of Vienna was published in the Journal of Thermal Biology, which provides an alternative explanation for the thermoregulation of elephants. Scientists have studied the change in temperature of six African elephants from the Vienna Zoo using an infrared camera. Scientists have found up to fifteen "hot windows" on the surface of the elephants' skin, which are scattered throughout the body. These zones expand as the ambient temperature increases.
It turned out that elephants can regulate blood flow to the cooling zones, thereby lowering the temperature of the blood. In fact, scientists have destroyed the myth of the “thick-skinned” elephant by discovering a very sensitive and well-controlled temperature regulation mechanism under the skin. The scientists also found that the control of blood flow to the elephant's ears occurs independently of the flow to other areas. The ears certainly play a primary role in the elephant's thermoregulation, but they are not the only thermoregulatory mechanism.
I would like to tell a little more about elephants in this post. These are highly developed animals. Any group of wild elephants is a single and complex organism. Baby elephants grow up in a large matriarchal family, where loving females take care of them, first of all, their own mother, as well as numerous sisters, aunts, grandmothers and just friends. The connections within the group are strong and maintained throughout the life of the elephant - about seven decades. Males live next to their mother up to 14 years, and females - all their lives. If a cub is injured or threatened, the other elephants will comfort and protect it.
Such cohesion is ensured by a complex system of communications. Elephants use an impressive range of vocal cues to communicate in short, from muffled grunts to high-pitched screams and roars, and visual cues, expressing a variety of emotions through their trunk, ears, head, and tail. They are also able to communicate at a large distance - over one and a half kilometers - in order to be heard by their relatives, elephants emit powerful low-frequency growling sounds.
The high intellectual abilities of elephants are confirmed by scientists. Magnetic resonance imaging of the elephant brain shows an unusually large size of the hippocampus, a region of the mammalian brain associated with memory processes and an important part of the limbic system, which is involved in the generation of emotions. In addition, an increased number of spindle-shaped neurons was found in the elephant's brain. It is assumed that in humans they are associated with such abilities as self-awareness, empathy and awareness of oneself in society. It also turned out that elephants can pass a test of recognizing themselves in a mirror - until recently it was believed that only humans, some higher primates and dolphins were capable of this.
20 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT ELEPHANTS
1. How many elephants are left on earth? Are elephants an endangered species?
At the moment, about 600,000 African and 30,000 to 50,000 Indian elephants live on Earth. Approximately 20% are kept in captivity - the exact number is difficult to determine. Due to poaching, the number of African elephants decreased by 50%, from 1.3 million to 600,000, from 1979 to 1989. During this period, 8 elephants (70,000 per year) were killed by poachers every hour, until a ban on ivory came out in 1989. CITES, the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, has considered both species so endangered that they have taken one of the first places (Appendix 1) in the Red Book. At the 1997 CITES conference, the elephant populations of Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia were listed on Appendix 2. Without any intervention, the elephant population only increases by 6% per year, according to research by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) elephant study group. Elephants need support, and will need even more in the future.
2. Since elephants have protruding thumbs, why aren't they considered primates?
When Carl Linnaeus published his classification of nature, it was based on anatomical differences between what he defined as species. He was a Christian and believed that all living things were created by God. Later, when his classification system began to be used by evolutionists, the system was also used to try to figure out how species come together in terms of evolution. Elephants are considered "primitive ungulates" belonging to the Subugulata group and forming the order Probosciodea (proboscis). The two relatively recent species are divided into two groups (Loxodonta and Elephas) belonging to the family Elephantidae. Primates are descended from small animals, tree shrews (Scandentia), which looked like squirrels. The character of the thumb is similar in bats and birds, which are not related but have wings. When two species are not related, but have anatomical similarity, this similarity is due to the fact that the animals simply could have developed similar traits, but this does not imply a species relationship.
3. What is the average length of an elephant's trunk and tusks?
The tusks of African elephants are much longer and heavier than those of Indian elephants. The longest known African elephant tusk is 349.2 cm long.
An elephant's trunk has over 4,000 muscles and is over 320 cm long.
4. What is the difference between Asian and Indian elephants? Are they actually the same and which term is considered correct?
There are no differences - it's the same. The common term nowadays is Asiatic Elephant, but in the past they were called Indian Elephant. Since they live in western India, northern China, and Sumatra and Borneo in the east, Asiatic Elephant is a better name than Indian Elephant.
5. What is the volume of an elephant's blood?
An elephant's blood volume is approximately 9.5% - 10% of its body weight.
6. What is the difference between African and Asian elephant ears?
The ears of African elephants are larger than those of Asian ones. One ear of an adult African elephant weighs 85 kg. If an African elephant spreads his ears, then the distance between them will be equal to his height.
7. What is the maximum speed a running elephant can reach?
Frightened elephants run at a speed of 16 km / h. For a short distance, they are able to reach speeds of up to 32-40 km / h.
8. How much do elephants eat and drink?
In nature, elephants consume up to 300 kg of grass and leaves per day, containing a large percentage of water. In captivity, they eat approximately 30 kg of hay, 10 kg of carrots or similar vegetables, and 5-10 kg of bread per day. Some zoos give different grains, about 3-10 kg. The diet also includes vitamins, (especially D) and minerals (salt, calcium). Depending on the temperature, elephants drink between 100 and 300 liters per day.
9. Why do elephants have no fur?
Evolutionists believe that the ancestors of elephants were semi-amphibious, or spent a lot of time in the water. Like most waterfowl, they shed their fur during this period, while a thick layer of blubber appeared under their skin as insulation. Some scientists apply this theory also to us - Homo sapiens. Elephants, especially Asian ones, still tend to spend as much time in the water as possible.
10. What is the normal heart rate and breathing of an elephant?
Heart rate standing 25 - 30 beats per minute.
Heart rate lateral 72 - 98 beats per minute.
Breathing - 4 - 6 breaths per minute.
Body temperature - 36 - 37 C.
11. How long does an elephant's pregnancy last?
12. What is the duration of the birth process?
Elephants carry their cubs for about 21 months. In the past, people believed that there was a difference in the duration of pregnancy, depending on the sex of the baby, but this has not yet been proven. Births last from two hours or more.
13. What time of year do elephants reproduce?
There are no obvious signs that elephants breed in a particular season. Usually, they give birth every fourth or fifth year.
14. How much does a baby elephant weigh at birth?
Newborn baby elephants weigh between 75 and 150 kg.
15. Does it happen that more than one baby elephant is born?
Very rarely, but it happens. At least two twin births have been reported in India in the past 20 years, both in Tamil Nadu. In America, the birth of twins was recently recorded at the Portland Zoo.
16. Why do elephants sway?
Mainly because they are bored. When they are often left in chains, wiggling becomes a bad habit. They fall into a doze and often fall asleep during this movement. It is possible that elephants sway because the stimulation of the soles encourages blood in the legs to drain through the veins back to the heart. People may assume that elephants are "crazy," but this behavior is as common to them as it is to us to walk back and forth while waiting for a bus in cold weather.
17. What is the maximum age an elephant can live to?
Elephants live about as long as humans. In the wild, they usually die around the age of sixty, and like many ruminants, from starvation. When the last pair of teeth is worn out, they simply cannot chew. In captivity, they live a little longer due to softer food. Unfortunately, only a few (20-30%) captive elephants reach this age, many die quite young (25 years old) due to general adjustment problems, or for physical reasons such as hoof and stomach problems. . The oldest known captive-born elephant, Minyak, was born in 1932 at the Hagenbeck Circus, and died in 1986 at the Barnum & Bailey Bros. Circus, USA, at age 54.
18. What is the favorite food of elephants?
Elephants love different types of candy, just like people do. However, they cannot survive on sweets alone. The main food of elephants in captivity is hay or grass. If such a diet is satisfactory, they may eat various sweets. Elephants' favorite treats are sweet fruits like bananas and apples, or vegetables like carrots. Various breads and biscuits are also very popular. In captivity, strange tastes can develop - for example, one elephant might work hard to get some of the materials, including resin. Like humans, there is a danger of overeating sweets (usually from zoo visitors feeding elephants), and as a result various health problems, such as being overweight or unnatural behavior, such as hanging around the fence for days on end, waiting for visitors to come with sweets. .
19. What kind of food do elephants eat in the wild?
The diet of wild elephants is directly related to their habitat. In southern India, elephants, for example, prefer ficus foliage, while elephants living in Zimbabwe may consume other plants. The source of food also depends on the rainy or dry season. In general, elephants eat various herbs, leaves, fruits and tree bark, which satisfies their need for minerals.
20. What predators do elephants meet in the wild? What animals do elephants get along with or just meet in the wild?
Elephants share habitat with lions, tigers, leopards, wild dogs, and other predators, depending on the habitat. In general, elephants are not afraid of these predators, although lions or wild dogs can drag a newborn baby elephant. Therefore, elephants try to keep predators away.
Video: How to measure the body temperature of an animal. Animal body temperature
Moving from place to place, we can feel how the temperature around us changes, but we do not think that the temperature of our body can change. She doesn't change. We are "homeothermic" and our species includes all warm-blooded animals, all mammals, domestic animals and birds.
But there are also animals whose body temperature changes with the temperature of the environment. They are called "poikilothermic" and include insects, snakes, reptiles, turtles, frogs, and fish. Their temperature is usually slightly below the ambient temperature. These are cold-blooded animals.
We know that the normal human temperature is 36.6°C, i.e. almost 37 ° C. But the temperature can vary within the normal range. For example, the temperature of the human body has its lowest level at about 4 o'clock in the morning - the temperature of the skin is lower than the temperature inside the body - eating raises the temperature for an hour or two - muscle work can increase the temperature - alcohol lowers internal temperature.
Body temperature in animals can vary greatly: from 35 ° C in an elephant to 43 ° C in small birds. According to body temperature, animals can be subdivided as follows:
Video: Effective raw food diet
Animals, like humans, must get rid of excess heat in order to restore a constant body temperature. Animals that don't sweat do so by breathing - that's why your dog breathes with his tongue out on a hot day.
Attention, only TODAY!Which warm-blooded animal has the highest body temperature? and got the best answer
Answer from Vjacheslav Goryainov[guru]
I don’t know why everyone considers the “dog of Quetzalcoatl” the most “temperature” animal ... However, this is not the case at all... The common pigeon has a significantly higher body temperature of +43.5 C.
Moving from place to place, we can feel how the temperature around us changes, but we do not think that our body temperature can change. She doesn't change. We are "homeothermic" and our species includes all warm-blooded animals, all mammals, domestic animals and birds.
But there are also animals whose body temperature changes with the temperature of the environment. They are called "poikilothermic" and include insects, snakes, reptiles, turtles, frogs, and fish. Their temperature is usually slightly below ambient temperature. These are cold-blooded animals.
We know that a person's normal temperature is 36.6°, i.e., almost C 37° C. But the temperature can vary within the normal range. For example, a person's body temperature is at its lowest around 4 am; skin temperature is lower than the temperature inside the body; eating raises the temperature for an hour or two; muscle work can raise the temperature; alcohol lowers the internal temperature.
Body temperature in animals can vary greatly: from 35 ° C in an elephant to 43 ° C in small birds. 
According to body temperature, animals can be classified as follows:
From 35 to 38 ° C - man, monkey, mule, donkey, horse, rat, mouse and elephant. From 37 to 39 ° C - cattle, sheep, dogs, cats, rabbits and pigs. From 40 to 41 ° C - turkey, goose, duck, owl, pelican and hawk. From 42 to 43 ° C - chickens, pigeons and some common small birds. 
The normal body temperature of a pigeon is +43.5 °C. Maintaining a constant temperature is facilitated by rapid digestion, due to which a lot of nutrients enter the body of the bird. From cooling the body with colder outside air, it is protected by a dense and warm feather cover. 
Animals, like humans, must shed excess heat in order to maintain a constant body temperature. Animals that don't sweat do so by breathing - that's why your dog breathes with his tongue out on a hot day.
Source:
Answer from Alexander[guru]
At the beloved woman during an orgasm....
Answer from Valera world yao[guru]
In the smallest mammals up to 40.7 degrees Celsius
Lesser shrew - Crocidura suaveolens. 
They have a very high metabolic rate and the highest body temperature over 40°C.
The genus Shrews - Sorex among mammals they have the greatest need for oxygen and the highest body temperature over 40 ° C
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Mexican hairless dog - a gift from the god Quetzalcoatl 
The Aztec Indians, who called her a gift from the god Quetzalcoatl, kept her in temples, surrounding her with worship, and used the high temperature of her body (40-40.5 "C) for medicinal purposes. Possessing such a high temperature, these dogs served as a kind of living heating pads that they put in bed to the sick, with colds and rheumatism.But it seems that he treated people not only with warming.Some psychics claim that the Mexican dog has a strong biofield that has a beneficial effect on humans.It is also known that its blood is close in composition to human blood.A Recently, a version has emerged that it is not of earthly origin at all, but a gift from extraterrestrial civilizations to earthlings.
Chinese crested dog - she also has a higher temperature than her relatives.
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From 37 to 39 ° C - cattle, sheep, dogs, cats, rabbits and pigs.
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The body temperature of an active sloth is 30-34 ° C, and even lower at rest. Sloths really do not like to get down from trees, because on the ground they are completely helpless. In addition, it requires energy costs. They climb down to send natural 
needs, which is done only once a week (which is why their bladders are huge) and sometimes to move to another tree. Childbirth often takes place on a tree.
Answer from PTITSA PHENIX[guru]
I don't know what answer do you want? Correct or beautiful? I only know how to give CORRECT. You have already been given beautiful ones.
Antelope addax from the Sahara can withstand blood and body temperatures up to +46 degrees. At the same time, her brain is colder by 3 degrees ...
Addax (lat. Addax nasomaculatus) or Mendes is an African antelope of the bovid family, part of the subfamily of saber-horned antelopes, the only species of the genus Addax.
The most adapted large mammal for life in the hot desert. A camel can only withstand a temperature of +40 in its blood, and then it starts to sweat.
If you need details of physiology, I can write to you about them.
What climatic conditions are suitable for elephants?
- So along the equator a belt with a damp warm climate is formed. It is under these conditions that a tropical rainforest can exist. It grows wherever the temperature ranges from 20 to 28º C and a lot of precipitation falls annually - 2000 - 4000 mm, and in some places 10,000 mm per year per 1 sq.m (for comparison: in the Moscow region - 700 mm). It is also important when these showers are poured: precipitation should be distributed evenly throughout the year. So, where tropical forests grow, there are no sharp warming or cooling, so here the seasons do not change.
- The subtropical climate of the Mediterranean is dry, precipitation in the form of rain falls in winter, even mild frosts are extremely rare, summers are dry and hot. In the subtropical forests of the Mediterranean, thickets of evergreen shrubs and low trees predominate. Trees rarely stand, and various herbs and shrubs grow wildly between them. Here grow junipers, noble laurel, strawberry tree, which sheds its bark every year, wild olives, tender myrtle, roses. Such types of forests are characteristic mainly in the Mediterranean, and in the mountains of the tropics and subtropics.
- The subtropics on the eastern outskirts of the continents are characterized by a more humid climate. Atmospheric precipitation falls unevenly, but there is more rain in summer, that is, at a time when vegetation is in particular need of moisture. Dense moist forests of evergreen oaks, magnolias, and camphor laurel predominate here. Numerous creepers, thickets of tall bamboos and various shrubs enhance the originality of the humid subtropical forest.
- From humid tropical forests, the subtropical forest differs in lower species diversity, a decrease in the number of epiphytes and lianas, as well as the appearance of coniferous, tree-like ferns in the forest stand.
- Previously, in the cool season, elephants went out into the steppes, but now this has become possible only in reserves, since outside of them the steppe has almost everywhere been turned into agricultural land. In summer, along the wooded slopes, elephants rise quite high into the mountains, meeting in the Himalayas at the border of eternal snows, at an altitude of up to 3600 m. Elephants move quite easily through swampy areas and climb mountains. Like other large mammals, elephants tolerate cold better than heat. They spend the hottest part of the day in the shade. Most populations today are isolated from each other. Typical habitats are tropical rain forests, semi-evergreen and semi-deciduous forests and swamps. Habitats change seasonally - in the dry season, elephants move to the swampy area, during the rainy season they return to the lowland rainforest.