How Do Elephants Use Their Trunks?

The elephant's trunk is an amazing organ without which it could not exist. It is the most remarkable part of the elephant's body and is almost as wonderful as the hands of man. It is an . The trunk serves the elephant as hand, arm and nose as well as lips.

The trunk contains a great number of muscles, probably as many as 40,000. As a result, it is very strong and flexible. Because of this great strength, the elephant can use its trunk very effectively as a weapon. The tip of the trunk ends in a sort of finger which is so sensitive it can pick up a small pin.

The trunk also serves as a hand to gather food which it places in the mouth. The elephants drink by sucking up water through tubes in its trunk. Then it curls the trunk inward and shoots the water down into its throat. It can also treat itself to a shower bath by squirting the water over its back. Elephants are very fond of water and will take a bath whenever they have a chme/answers_moderate.php?status[]=preapproved&username=&paid2write=y&p=53#
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The elephant's trunk is a unique body component and is an amazing example of different body parts modifying in the course of evolution. The elephant trunk is actually nothing but the nose and the upper lip of the elephant. It has two nostrils running through the length of the trunk. However, the elephant uses the trunk for a range of activities –caressing their babies, moving heavy objects, eating, spraying themselves while bathing, etc. It is indeed a fascinating sight to behold.

So how does the trunk function? The trunk has a large number of muscles, and also other components such as nervous tissue, fat, and flesh. The movement and the flexibility of the trunk is attributed to the muscles on it. The trunk has four external muscles, one each on the upper and lower surface as well as the lateral surfaces of the trunk. These muscles are responsible for the major movements – lifting the trunk, bringing it down, or moving it from side to side. The internal muscles are composed of a large number of fascicles. An adult elephant may have as many as almost a 150,000 of these. They work in tandem with the outer muscles to enable the finer movement that the trunk is capable of – such as spraying water, eating, etc.