How Far Do Elephants Travel



“They can swim and cross rivers without any problem,” Surendra Varma, senior scientist at the Bangalore-based Asian Nature Conservation Foundation, said. However, he noted that since most live in forested or mountainous areas, this skill isn’t really displayed to the extent it is in these islands. It’s surreal to swim with an elephant, especially in tropical blue water. I remember thinking, “Wow, this is crazy that I’m here witnessing this.” Often, Rajan was in shallower areas. But I really hoped to get a photo of him swimming weightlessly in deeper water, his legs kicking freely, in doggy paddle motion. It all came down to whatever mood Rajan was in.

Kissing proboscis elephants and playing in river, Sri Lanka. Cartoon kid animal summer vacation activity at beach. Elephant show swimming and blow the bubbles out of the trunk... Because elephants are so big, they generate a lot of heat. To help prevent overheating, their big ears contain a network of blood vessels. An elephant’s blood cools as it travels through its thin-skinned ears.

Their swimming style is quite interesting as well. Shortly after moving to Udhagamandalam in southern India I learned that elephants were brought to the Andaman archipelago for logging. Male elephants were put on some islands and females on other islands. When the males went into musth, pulled by nature’s call, they would swim to the islands with the female elephants. In India the elephants keepers are known as mahouts.

Elephants are native to Asian forests and African savannas, where temperatures can reach extremes. Water is essential to the survival of these species. These creatures can perish quickly if they do not have access to water throughout the summer. In fact, they had no choice but to leap into the water to cool down their bodies during intense heat. Under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Asian elephants are classified as endangered and have faced significant threats from logging and loss of habitat. Some elephants have even found fame as swimmers.

On the day I took this photo, I was with him on one of his longer swims and I used a weight belt to freedive down to get the angle I wanted. He’d totally immerse himself and use his trunk like a snorkel, which was so cool. Every morning, Rajan would go into the jungle or walk down to the beach. He went swimming whenever he felt Incredible elephant swims in deep water like it. He seemed to have adapted to swimming in salt water and even to enjoy it.

Vector illustration for learning shadow of different shapes. For children witch 4 cartoon image Horse Elephant Fish Giraffe learning pages for kids. Vector illustration for learning shadow of different shapes.... Large elephant herd taking a bath in the Chove river, Chobe... A close up action profile portrait of a swimming submerged...

No, because the buoyant force on the elephant would be the same in both cases. Two of a herd of bachelor elephants swimming across the Chobe River towards Sedudu/ northern Botswana, using their trunks as snorkels. From the image capture details, it looks like he took around 5 minutes to swim across the lake. It is quite a big lake and this timing looks very impressive.

For us humans, this will be comparable to a “doggy swim” type of stroke rather than a clean human breaststroke. Enjoy and experience African elephants from a safe distance with this South African elephant conservation tour.

Elephants use their trunks as a snorkel to breathe underwater. This allows them to swim for long periods of time without needing to completely emerge from the water. Despite its massive size, an elephant’s body has more than enough buoyancy to stay afloat even if they aren’t actively swimming. Similar to humans and many other species of mammals, they can simply stop swimming and allow their bodies to float just above the surface if they get tired. One of the first concerns that may come to mind while contemplating elephant swimming abilities is why they need to swim in the first place. Some people believe elephants swim in order to get better food and water.

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