Elephants Use Their Feet to Sense Vibrations Beneath the Ground. This is one way for them to “hear” what is happening around them. Humans and other animal species also possess this ability.
You might think that elephants can only hear with their enormous ears, but in fact, the largest land animals use their feet to listen as well.
Mr. Ross MacPhee, who oversees the elephant exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, explains that sounds travel through the air and other surfaces in the form of vibrations, and elephants can detect low-frequency vibrations from as far as 30 km away.
Not only do they use their massive ears to hear, but elephants can also use their feet to “listen” from great distances. (Image source: Getty).
These vibrations travel through the ground near their feet, passing through the elephant’s body as bone conduction. Elephants are particularly adept at sensing sounds at low frequencies, including those produced by waves and storms.
“What’s really interesting is not just that these animals can do this, but how they use that sensory ability,” Mr. MacPhee notes. “Elephants have ways of communicating with each other that you wouldn’t expect.”
For instance, an elephant may use this ability to protect and warn others in the herd when it senses vibrations from a distant earthquake.
Other animal species, including humans, also possess this capability.
Mr. MacPhee is the curator of the elephant exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. (Image: Maiya Focht).
If you’ve ever held a tuning fork close to your head or felt your body vibrate while listening to a concert, you’ve experienced a sensation similar to that of an elephant, albeit at a different level. Many other animals, such as whales, rhinoceroses, and giraffes, also share this sense.
