Young African Forest Elephant Sniffing the Air
Congo, Africa
The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is a species native to tropical rainforests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. Formerly considered to be a subspecies of the African bush elephant, morphological and DNA analysis showed that they are two distinct species. The forest elephant is generally reclusive, shy and skittish, preferring to use the dense forest habitat for cover.
Elephants have an exceptionally powerful sense of smell, with around 2,000 olfactory receptor genes - more than any other known land animal and significantly more than dogs. An elephants' nostrils are at the tip of its trunk. They smell by moving their trunks back and forth to capture air samples that they then direct to the millions of scent receptor cells in their nasal cavity. They wave their trunks in the air to pick up and analyze these scents, a process that is crucial for finding food, locating water, identifying threats, and social communication.
Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.
Photo Prints
Metal Prints
Canvas Prints
Acrylic Prints