How Elephants Hear with More Than Their Ears
Elephants and Their Amazing Sense of Hearing
If you already think elephants are amazing creatures, just wait until you learn about their powerful sense of hearing.
Elephants have an incredible sense of hearing and can vocalize long distances. They make a variety of noises and are able to pick up sounds in a unique way.
Elephants can communicate and hear with their feet! That’s right. While trumpeting can be heard miles away, elephants also communicate with a low rumble that travels far. This call is picked up by other elephants through their feet.
How they hear through their feet
Vocalizations and foot stomps occur at a frequency that can be picked up by other elephants and detected through the ground. Their enlarged ear bones as well as sensitive nerve endings in their feet and trunks allow them to receive these “underground messages.”
It’s believed elephants can hear as far as 100 to 150 miles away! When an elephant stomps, they are warning more than those in the immediate area. These stomps can be cues of danger and/or ways to communicate with family members far away.
Who knew that elephants can exchange information by emitting low-frequency sounds travelling hundreds of miles underground? These large, majestic animals have a powerful sense of communication using more than just their ears!
