Did you know that the largest mammal in the world has a huge appetite too?It is their teeth that allow elephants to eat up to 300 lb (136 kg) of food a day. Teeth for elephants are so important that you can even say their life depends on them.Indeed, teeth play a vital role in an elephant’s life. But, they are also the reason why they are hunted. Why does this happen? Read on to find out. We know why elephants have those distinguishable features in their anatomy, from a tooth, the tusk, to a trunk. The different types of teeth are molars, deciduous molar teeth, and tusks. There is quite a confusion about the tooth and tusk of these evolutionary species of the forest. All of these parts of an elephant’s anatomy serve some purpose and are necessary for them.Wildlife, in this age, is facing quite a crisis and humans are expected to take efforts to save wild animals. In fact, the tusk burning incident that happened in Kenya related to ivory theft is proof of greed and an example of how humans who are supposed to work on the conservation of wild and domestic animals are actually putting the wildlife in bad shape. Conservation and support for wildlife should not be a choice, these animals need to be protected.If you like our article on do elephants have teeth, then why not take a look at do elephants have good memory, or what is a baby hedgehog called.How many teeth do elephants have?Yes, elephants do have teeth apart from their tusks. There are a total of 26 teeth in general. They include the two incisors (the two tusks), 12 deciduous premolars, and 12 molars.Unlike other mammals that grow baby teeth and then lose them as they develop, elephants’ teeth go through rotation throughout their lifetime! These are used to eat a variety of food such as roots, fruit, and bark. A young elephant aged two may start developing its first tooth. This animal can grow up to have four to six sets of molar teeth. For example, African elephants have six sets of molar teeth. Just think of the weight of this set of teeth. A single molar can weigh up to 5 lb (2.2 kg)! They grow in the lower jaw and move forward as new ones come in to replace them. But their teeth don’t have sockets as they simply develop through the jaw from the back to the front. Imagine a conveyor belt for a picture of how they grow!Types Of Teeth In ElephantsEvolutionally, the teeth of elephants are known to have changed according to their behavior. That means a change was seen not only in the mammal’s DNA but also by external factors.Many times it is hard to ascertain what changed first, the anatomy or the diet. But in the case of elephants, we have evidence that their diet changed first and then the elephant teeth. The molar is wide and flat. There are differences in the types of molars for different elephants, male and female. For example, the molars vary between African or Asian elephants. The ridges on the chewing surface of Asian elephants run in parallel lines while those of an African male or female elephant form a diamond shape. The final set of molars grow when elephants are in their 40s, and they last for a lifetime.As molars wear out, another one takes its place. When developing, they have four sets of molars and start losing them at the age of two. As they grow older, the molars, too, last long term but that is after some wear out in the initial stage. As they grow old, these molars grow smooth, making it difficult to chew tougher vegetation. When the diet is affected, it affects the health of the mammal. In a way, we can say elephant’s teeth determine how long it lives.Why do elephants have trunks?One of the main reasons elephants have trunks is to be able to eat and drink. They allow this animal to suck up almost 3.1 gal (14 L) of water and eat an incredible amount of food.The trunk is also used as its sense of smell. Trunks have a long length, therefore, elephants don’t have to bend to get food, water, or move their large head around unnecessarily. Elephant groups talk and communicate with the help of trumpet-like sounds made by its trunk part. Even a handshake or hug given to a close friend or family is given with their trunk!Likewise, an elephant’s mouth structure is quite evident. Obviously, they only have one mouth. They use both their mouth and trunk while they eat or drink. But mind you, both this animal’s trunk and mouth are used for different purposes.They are herbivores, meaning they are vegetarian. They eat many foods like grass, leaves, twigs, roots, and shrubs. The diet varies according to the type of elephant and its habitat. So, they don’t eat meat and are rather strict about it. The structure of an elephant’s mouth and its trunk makes it easier to eat vegetarian food rather than meat. Also, non-vegetarian food will be difficult to digest for them.What is the purpose of tusks in elephants?Tusks started to appear around 20 million years ago in ancient elephant anatomy.Do you know another name for tusks? They are called incisors, and they grow throughout an elephant’s life. Elephant incisors are used for many different activities. For example, digging holes, stripping bark from trees, and fighting. Tusks are one of the most noticeable features of elephants apart from their long trunk. We have seen that in Asia, only male Asian elephants have tusks. In contrast, both elephants in Africa have tusks. Males usually are longer tusked than females. In today’s time, many of them are even evolving without tusks.So why tusks? Are they just an attractive feature? Yes, in a way. Apart from practical uses, male elephants use their tusks to impress females and intimidate enemies too. Size matters in the attraction criteria. It is said that adult males have to be twice as large as adult females and their tusks are at least five times larger than those of females.Unfortunately, the demand for elephant tusks has increased so much that it has led to several elephant deaths. Why are tusks of consequence for us? It is because tusks are made of ivory, and it is one of the most highly prized materials. Elephant ivory is used for making jewelry, piano keys, and statutes. And to get the ivory from them, the only way is to kill the elephants. Ivory is precious, to put it simply.Humans and their greed have led to the oldest and wisest elephants in the world to lose their lives. What could have been evolutionary became the destruction of wildlife and it probably started with ivory greed. These events, in turn, have affected the animal population. It takes one human to initiate a story like this. Modern elephants appeared about 7 million years ago and that is a different story.One more reason why teeth are important is that elephants chew for almost 22 hours a day! That is the reason their teeth have ridges that help the process better. The most sizeable tusk recorded was 9.7 ft (3 m) long and weighs 148 lb (67 kg) each for African elephants. Tusks for these species are like hands for us humans. They even are left or right tusked as we are right or left-handed.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for do elephants have teeth then why not take a look at what is a baby giraffe called, or can bearded dragons eat zucchini.
Did you know that the largest mammal in the world has a huge appetite too?
