{"id":264,"date":"2022-11-16T19:03:44","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T19:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinggiants.org\/?p=264"},"modified":"2022-11-16T19:03:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T19:03:47","slug":"how-strong-are-elephants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinggiants.org\/how-strong-are-elephants\/","title":{"rendered":"How Strong Are Elephants? Pure Strength Facts!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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While massive animals roamed the earth long before humans inhabited it, elephants are the closest thing we get to the mammoths of the ancient world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By comparison, elephants are smaller than their prehistoric counterparts. But make no mistake: They\u2019re nowhere close to puny by today\u2019s standards!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These animals are the largest land mammals on the planet. Fortunately for us, they\u2019re also herbivores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elephants aren\u2019t always the human-friendly creatures<\/a> people imagine them to be, but they\u2019re primarily considered gentle giants. Intelligent enough for complex emotions and complex social hierarchies, elephants are some of the most fascinating creatures around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that they\u2019re big, but how strong are elephants?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Elephant Basics<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we get into the specifics, let\u2019s talk about why elephants are so strong in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the most significant factor is the animal\u2019s gargantuan size! There are three distinct elephant species. The largest and heaviest is the African Savannah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also known as the African Bush, this elephant can get three to four meters tall. That\u2019s over 13 feet in height for the tallest specimen! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of weight, these behemoths can weigh anywhere between five and eight tons!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

African Forest elephants are slightly smaller. They rise to heights of around three meters, or just shy of 10 feet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fully grown, the forest species can weigh as much as five tons.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we have the Asian elephant. While smaller than the African varieties, these guys are still big! Asian elephants can get about 10 feet tall and tip the scales at six to seven tons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all elephant species, males are usually the bigger and stronger of the bunch. However, females don\u2019t trail that far behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strength & Calories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next to the animal\u2019s size<\/a>, its diet plays a big part in its strength. Some people incorrectly assume that herbivores lack muscle. That\u2019s not the case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While they eat nothing but plant-based material, elephants are constantly snacking. They can spend up to 16 hours a day eating as much as 300 pounds of food daily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those enormous meals give the mammal a never-ending supply of calories to reach peak strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Understanding Elephant Strength<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Elephants have brute strength that most animals can\u2019t even get close to replicating. They\u2019re not the strongest animals in the world, but pound for pound, they are the strongest land creatures to roam the earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few different ways to measure strength, and these animals impress on all fronts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tusk Strength<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An elephant\u2019s ivory tusks are more robust than most realize. Because they were often used for delicate furniture accents and jewelry decades ago, many assume that the tusks are brittle. However, that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tusks are nothing more than overgrown incisors. They continue to grow throughout an elephant\u2019s life, and you can use them to determine the age of a giant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tusks grow on both male and female African elephants. However, males are the only ones to get them for the Asian species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elephants use tusks for a variety of things<\/a>. They use them for defense, tearing down trees, removing bark, and more. The curved teeth go through a lot of pressure. Luckily, they\u2019re built to handle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tusks can handle up to 14,000 PSI of applied force. That\u2019s 14,000 pounds per square inch of bending force!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a video of an elephant showing it’s strength by tearing down a tree.<\/p>\n\n\n

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