The elephant's trunk represents. Why does an elephant have a long trunk and such huge ears? Protection from enemies

1. Introduction:

I saw a fairy tale by R. Kipling about a curious Baby Elephant and how he got a trunk.

I wondered why the elephant is long trunk? This is how the topic of my work was determined.

1. Main content:

The purpose of the work: Find out why the elephant has such a long trunk.

Tasks:

• to study the literature, the opinions of scientists on this topic
• find out what a trunk is
• find out what an elephant can do with its trunk

Object of study: elephant

Subject of study: elephant trunk

Hypothesis - I assume that an elephant needs a long trunk so that he can get itobjects that are far away from it.

Methods: Literature analysis

Long ago, mammoths lived on Earth. The conditions of their existence were very difficult and gradually, one after another, the mammoths died, unable to withstand the difficulties. their descendants

became Asian and African elephants. They are the largest animals that live on earth.

The structure of the elephant's body provides amazing organ- trunk.

What is a trunk anyway? Nose, lip, hand? And why does he need "all this"?

The trunk is the nose, because with the help of the trunk, the elephant can smell. turning

trunk in one direction or another, and expanding (nostrils) the end of the trunk, he will immediately feel

the presence of a person, an animal, or the smoke of a fire.

The trunk is a lip, because with the trunk it captures food and sends it to the mouth.

The trunk is a hand, because with its trunk an elephant plucks leaves and branches from trees and draws water,

and then pour it into your mouth. With its trunk, an elephant can hit the enemy so that it knocks him down,

Or maybe even kill.

There are several reasons why an elephant has a trunk.

No, an elephant needs a trunk not at all to blow his nose with relish, drive away midges, scratch

Backrest or pick up money from the ground without bending over. The reasons for the presence of a trunk lie in

different plane...

Evil English people forced elephants to work. They also used them as draft

strength, and like a loader, since it cost nothing for an elephant to lift a log with its trunk,

move it to the right distance and put it where ordered. After all, elephants are beautiful

are trained.

Elephants use their trunks to swing trees and uproot them, as well as remove other

barriers that prevent them from passing.

With a trunk, an elephant can hug a friend, caress her, or hold on to her tail like a hand.

mother while in infancy. And with the help of a trunk, an elephant can

pick up small objects from the ground, including money. Because at the very end

trunk has such developed muscles that they perform the function of fingers. In general, an elephant

trunk, as if without hands ...

With the help of the trunk, the elephant escapes from the heat by collecting water and watering himself, as if from a hose.

An elephant blows its trunk, that is, it communicates with its own kind, and the sound that this organ makes

Heard for miles.

In short, the trunk is the nose, and the lip, and the hand, and the sound instrument, and the device for the soul.

All in all, the proboscis organ is versatile, extremely important, and quite unique.

What do the scientists say?

Scientists say that the trunk is upper lip, fused with the nose and representing the tube

From muscles. This organ in an elephant is extremely strong and flexible. And the elephant itself, scientists insist,

- the largest of land animals. And very smart. Also patient and wise.

Inside, scientists say, the trunk is divided into two channels, and at the very tip it has a very

Developed muscles (fingers). And scientists also say that elephants are descendants of mammoths,

who also had trunks and tusks. By the way, the tusks protruding from the upper jaw

elephant, nothing more than strongly "grown" teeth. Also "grown up", like the nose and upper

lip.

Concluding the answer to the question “Why does an elephant need a trunk”, I would like to say the following: without a trunk, an elephant

It's impossible, it's a nose, and a lip, and a hand, and a sound instrument.

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Slides captions:

Topic: “Why does an elephant need such a long trunk?” The work was done by a 1st grade student Valiulina Ksenia

The purpose of the work: Find out why the elephant has such a long trunk. Tasks: 1. What is a trunk 2. What does an elephant do with a trunk Hypothesis: I assume that an elephant needs a long trunk so that it can reach objects that are far from it.

Elephants, like people, to know the world five senses help – taste, smell, sight, touch and hearing. The most important thing for them is the sense of smell. Elephants sniff with their trunks. The trunk not only picks up smells - it is very sensitive to touch. It has special hairs. With their help, animals touch (as if feeling) objects and find out whether they are cold or hot, smooth or rough. The rumbling sounds that elephants make when communicating with each other are usually so low in frequency that humans are unable to hear them. When two elephants meet, each puts the tip of its trunk in the other's mouth to signify a greeting.

At the slightest sign danger, the elephant raises its sensitive trunk up - in this way it determines what or who is approaching it. An elephant's sense of smell is so subtle that it can smell a person more than 1.5 km away.

Elephants have well developed hearing. Their huge ears catch the “rumble” of other elephants from about 8 km away. Trying to hear a distant noise or becoming interested in some sound, the elephant puts its ears forward. And the male flaps his ears to spread a special scent that lets other elephants know that he is there. adult ear African elephant can weigh as much as a person.

Elephants are able to hear very low sounds called infrasound. You and I cannot hear infrasound, although we sometimes feel it. Other animals such as the bats are able to hear very high-pitched sounds called ultrasound.

Some working elephants are able to muffle the ringing of bells tied around their necks by covering their “tongue” with mud. This allows quick-witted animals to slowly feast on young shoots in peasant fields.

The eyes of elephants are brown, with a very long eyelashes. Elephants are color blind and can't see well in bright, direct sunlight. Their vision is better adapted to the twilight of the forest thicket.

The mother or other close relative touches the baby elephant every few seconds, encouraging him and letting him know that everything is in order. Elephants touch each other when they meet; often rest, touching their backs, sides or heads.

Trunk

The trunk serves as the elephant's nose, lips and "hands" at the same time. The trunk helps elephants breathe and smell, fight, play, greet each other, make different sounds, feel and take various items. Elephants also drink and eat through their trunks. At a watering hole, an elephant draws water with its trunk and then puts it into its mouth. Baby elephants drink with their mouths until they learn to use their trunks to the fullest.

In the center of the trunk there are two holes - these are the nostrils through which the elephant breathes. There are many muscles and tendons under the skin that make the trunk extremely flexible. The African elephant lifts both large branches and whole tree trunks with equal ease. Its powerful trunk has more than a hundred thousand muscles, which allow the elephant to carry large and heavy objects from place to place quite calmly.

To stand under the shower, the elephant does not need a shower stall with all sorts of devices. He always carries his shower with him - an elephant at any moment can douse himself with a stream of water, liquid mud or dust from his trunk. Such a shower cools and eliminates annoying insects.

Stretching out their long elastic trunk, African elephants can reach the upper branches of tall acacia trees to pick the freshest and juiciest leaves. And if necessary, the flexible trunk will also penetrate into a narrow crevice between the stones, where a puddle of rainwater has accumulated.

If desired, the elephant can “hang” the trunk, throwing it over the tusk. This is possible because there are no bones in the trunk, only muscles, which makes it very flexible. The trunk of the African elephant has two processes at the end, the Indian - only one. Peculiar fingers allow you to grab a very small object, such as a coin or piece of paper.

Elephants are one of the most amazing animals in nature. With their huge size, they are considered very neat. An elephant's trunk is an elongated nose through which the elephant eats and smells. By its structure, the trunk - unique organ. It consists entirely of muscles, forming an elongated tube. The whole life of an elephant is impossible without a trunk.

The trunk is the nose, lip and arm of the elephant. From the point of view of science, the elephant's trunk is an elongated upper lip and nose that have grown together over many millions of years. The trunk of an elephant consists of flexible muscles, the number of which is more than 4 thousand. It is important not to approach the elephant without a tamer, he can hit nearby standing man with the help of a trunk. A blow with a trunk without any doubt can be fatal.

In addition, the elephant's trunk is an excellent organ of smell. Elephants are good at smelling.

In elephants, the trunk also performs other functions. They hold onto the tail of their mother elephant with their trunks as they travel. Adult elephants may use their trunks as a defensive and striking force from enemies, also for educational purposes - to spank naughty baby elephants.

Where does an elephant have a trunk? Many scientists have thought about this question. And once, back in 1993, in South Africa there was a big shooting of elephants. Then, about five elephant embryos fell into the hands of scientists, the age of which ranges from 50 to 170 days. During the study, scientists were able to find out that the elephant was once a marine animal, like sea ​​cow, which came to land about 30 million years ago. The elephant originally used its trunk as a breathing tube in the water. This forced evolution to lengthen the trunk, because on great depths I needed a long breathing tube.

The length of the trunk reaches two meters, with a mass of about 150 kg. Scientists claim that the elephant's trunk is incredibly strong and flexible. The trunk consists of many flexible muscles and does not have a single bone. Inside it consists of two channels, at the ends of which there are fingers (developed muscles). These fingers appeared as a result of evolution. They are needed to pluck low grass, and elephants also use them to grab fruit from a tree.

Also, with the help of a trunk, some elephants can draw. So, in the Whipshade Zoo, in the UK, there lives an elephant painting on canvas. Experience "artist" about three years. The elephant is fourteen years old. For every painting sold, the zoo receives £200 to help protect endangered animals. Indian elephants, of which there are no more than 30 thousand individuals left in the world.

Here are a few more interesting facts on the topic of why an elephant needs a trunk. It is known that during a long drought, elephants get water with the help of a trunk. They determine the location with a trunk underwater waters and dig a hole up to three meters deep. An elephant's trunk can hold up to 7 liters of water. The elephant has a good memory, he always remembers everything. Especially the human scent. Indian elephants and still use the trunk as a pipe for breathing when crossing deep river. Elephants greet each other in a special way by wrapping their trunks around each other. They also use their trunks to communicate with each other. They trumpet through it, creating a specific sound unlike any other. This sound extends over a radius of three kilometers.

As can be seen from the article, a lot of what an elephant's trunk is needed for. Without a trunk, the life of an elephant is impossible; without it, the elephant will not be able to eat and defend itself from enemies. Elephants also clear their way with their trunks, shake trees. During the defense, some elephants lose their trunks, then relatives feed them with their trunks, help them to rise to their feet.

Elephants are one of the most amazing animals in nature. But, and the unusual and unique feature of the elephant is its trunk. Interesting and Curious: Why does an elephant need a trunk? Let's look for an answer to this interest Ask. Probably not only children asked such a question, we can surely say that not even all adults know why an elephant has a trunk. But after reading this article, we will definitely find out: “what?”, “why?” and why?".

This is not only an elongated nose, but also a “hand” with which the animal grabs objects, eats and smells. The whole life of an elephant is impossible without it. long nose-trunk. With the help of its trunk, an elephant can perform the same tasks that a person can perform with the help of a hand.

The elephant's trunk is an excellent olfactory organ. These animals are very good at distinguishing smells. By turning it in different directions, the animal easily recognizes various smells, another animal, person or danger.

The main task of the trunk- this is to capture food and send it to the mouth, the elephant can also drink water through it, like through a straw, it draws water into the trunk and pours it into the mouth. Also, with the help of a trunk, an elephant can arrange a shower for himself in extreme heat, dousing himself with water, dust or even dirt.

The trunk serves elephants and for protection. Elephants are peaceful and very calm animals. But if the elephant gets angry, then he can hit a person or any animal with his trunk very hard. Such a blow without any doubt can be fatal.

After bathing, elephants wrap themselves in sand (or mud) with the help of their trunk, they pick up sand (dirt) with their trunk like water and sprinkle themselves with it. The sand (mud) dries up and forms a crust that protects the elephants from the bites of various insects.

(photo 2018-05-04_164636)

With the help of the trunk, animals communicate, elephants make various sounds. In addition, no one passes without it mating games. It is with this organ that the elephant wins the location of the female.

Olga Korovina
Project "Where does the elephant's trunk come from"

« Where does the elephant's trunk come from»

Ivanov Yaroslav

MBDOUd/s#12 "Our happiness"

Appendix.

According to the text of the abstract - presentation « Where does the elephant's trunk come from» (28 illustrations on sheets, 1 copy).

Competition research preschool projects

Where does the elephant's trunk come from?

Section: “My first teaching and research project»

(natural science direction)

Ivanov Yaroslav,

MBDOU d / s No. 12 "Our happiness"

Tbilisi region,

stanitsa Tbilisskaya

Scientific leaders:

« Where does the elephant's trunk come from»

Ivanov Yaroslav

MBDOU d / s No. 12 "Our happiness"

Annotation.

I love learning new and interesting things about the world around us. Most of all I enjoy listening to my mother reading, studying and looking at illustrations, watching TV shows and movies about animals. My favorite animal - elephant.

I recently visited the Darwin Museum, where I saw the fossil baby mammoth Lyuba and other exhibits elephants and mammoths.

I asked my parents:

From where elephants appeared trunk, because animals descended from dinosaurs and them with trunk was not?

Hypothesis: elephant's trunk appeared in the process of evolution.

Target: explore life elephants and trunk functions. Consider evolutionary development elephants.

Object of study: elephants.

Tasks:

Explore life elephants.

Reveal functional tasks elephant trunk.

Find the answer to your question « Where does the elephant's trunk come from?»

A life elephants.

Elephant- the largest and most powerful animal on earth. Only whales surpass them in size.

live elephants 70-80 years old eat plant foods. Elephant feeds on grass and tree leaves.

They sleep little - half as much as a person. This gives them the opportunity to spend more time looking for food. They move freely through swamps and thickets, easily climb large mountain slopes, and swim well. The body is dressed in skin that no thorns and thorns can hurt.

There are two kinds in the world elephants, each with one type.

African - lives in the forest areas of tropical Africa.

Indian - lives in Sri Lanka and the Indian Peninsula, in the countries of Indochina, South China and on the large islands of Indonesia.

Elephants live in herds(family groups). In a herd from 10 to 35 elephant with baby elephants and one old elephant. At elephants mostly one cub is born. Elephant very cute and cute babies who travel by grabbing proboscis for mother's tail.

Favorite activity for elephants are food. Every day he eats up to 250 kilograms of food and drinks up to 200 liters of water.

elephants they adore water and do not miss the opportunity to swim and splash in the reservoirs. They are excellent swimmers, surprisingly leaving only the very tip above the water. trunk and forehead.

Roar elephant is a piercing and screeching sound that resembles both the squeal of car brakes and the hoarse huge bugle.

elephants- Animals are very friendly. When they see each other, they, like people, always say hello, they just do it in their own way. special ritual, which is intertwined trunks with each other while trumpeting loudly.

As little children hold their mother's hand with their hand, so baby elephants in the first years of life go for elephant - mother holding her tail with her proboscis.

In addition to the huge size, elephant, strikes and surprises him trunk

Functional tasks trunk.

What is this organ? What is it for elephant? How was it formed? And generally speaking trunk Is it a changed upper lip, nose or hand? How to answer all these questions?

trunk elephants perform many actions. They are recruiting in trunk water water themselves and each other with this water; take trunk food; pluck leaves and branches; trumpet; clap and stroke each other and even know how to draw with them.

But how could it appear elephant such an amazing organ?

And it was all like that.

And everything was like that: a long time ago, millions of years ago, distant ancestors roamed the earth elephants. Instead of trunk they had a slightly elongated fused nose and upper lip. With such a nose - lip elephants snatched tidbits from the trees. Some of the animals had a nose-lip that was at least a little longer, that got more food. These animals grew strong and hardy. But in nature, the fittest survive. That's how they survived elephantine, whose nose-lip was at least a little longer than the rest. To cubs born into the world with more long noses-lips than their counterparts, life was easier. And the cubs of their cubs also had an easier life. So from generation to generation animals appeared, at least not by much, but with longer and longer noses - lips.

Centuries passed. And nature sifted out, selected from all animals the most enduring, most adapted to the difficulties of life, including elephants with long noses. Thanks to such natural selection, the nose-lip turned first into a short nose, and then into a real one. trunk. at the tip trunk at first it turned out something like a finger, which elephant can pick up even a blade of grass from the ground. Once - and elephant he plucked a bunch of grass for them, two - a green twig, a delicious fruit, three - he doused himself on a hot day with water, like from a hose, four - he sprinkled sand on his sides. The elephant even learned to blow his trunk.

Conclusion.

In the evolution of the detachment proboscis a definite trend can be observed. From the Eocene meriterium (1) through the Oligocene fayum (2, Miocene homotherium (3) and tetralophodon (4) to the Pliocene Stegodon (5) and modern elephant(6) there is an increase in size, complication of teeth, the transformation of incisors into tusks and the development trunk from the fused nose and upper lip.

Series of evolution proboscis, shown in the figure, is collected from representatives of different evolutionary lines and has only comparative anatomical significance.

I hugged the globe - the globe of the earth.

Alone over land and water

In the hands of my continents

They whisper softly to me "take care"

After all, animals, birds, ants

We are all children of the same green!

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