{"id":2130,"date":"2016-08-19T15:42:52","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T13:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/?p=2130"},"modified":"2019-02-26T09:45:36","modified_gmt":"2019-02-26T07:45:36","slug":"elephant-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/elephant-101\/","title":{"rendered":"ELEPHANT 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post is not about travel as such, but seeing that we had several close encounters with elephants in Mana Pools, Matusadona as well as in many of the Botswana wild parks this may come in handy.\u00a0 Even in lately in Kruger National Park there were some incidents\/accidents.
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Let\u2019s start off with some interesting and lesser known facts about the trunk of an elephant:<\/p>\n

Feeling the vibe: \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Aside from smell, the trunk is sensitive to vibrations; from the ground it can sense the rumble of faraway herds and even far-off thunder.<\/p>\n

Mighty muscles: \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>An elephant\u2019s trunk has eight major muscles on either side and 150,000 muscle bundles in all. It is so strong that it can easily push down trees or roll over a vehicle.<\/p>\n

Move it: \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Like the human tongue, the trunk is a muscular hydrostat \u2013 a boneless muscular structure that allows for its excellent maneuverability.<\/p>\n

Phenomenal sense of smell: \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>So sensitive is an elephant\u2019s trunk that it is more capable than a bloodhound’s nose and is said to be able to smell water, citrus and apples \u00a0from several miles away.<\/p>\n

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How to approach an elephant <\/strong><\/p>\n