No, this story that elephants would have a kind of sanctuary, a quiet place to which they would go before dying, is just a legend. There are several theories for the origin of the myth. The most accepted was prepared by specialists from the San Diego Zoo (USA). According to these scholars, when trombudos grow old, their teeth become very sensitive and, therefore, they find it difficult to eat their usual food, made up of bushes, leaves and bark of trees. Therefore, it is common for older animals to move to swampy regions, where there is plenty of water and the foliage is softer. Invariably, they end up staying there until they die. The concentration of bones in these places is what would have originated the myth. “The elderly animals also stray from the group because they become slower and fall behind”, adds biologist Mara Marques, head of the mammal sector at the Zoological Foundation of São Paulo. The legend of the trombudos sanctuary ended up gaining weight due to the reverent attitude of these animals in front of a dead colleague. In front of a lifeless pachyderm, all the members of a herd stop next to the deceased and seem to inspect him with their trunks, as if they were paying their last respects. Furthermore, the relative of the deceased follows the group from afar for a few days, in a kind of public manifestation of mourning. See below for other fun facts about the big guys. :-m
GIANT PENIS, “EAR” PRINT
Features of the World’s Largest Land Animal That Look Like a Lie
CABEÇÃO
The pachyderm does have an excellent memory. But it’s not because he’s a big head (his brain weighs 5.4 kilos). This is believed to be partly due to its longevity of up to 70 years – living so long, it ends up memorizing more.
DUMBO RG
Elephants’ ears are their «fingerprint». The oversized brims have not only unique shapes but unmistakable hollows and stripes.
NASAL RADAR
The long proboscis – which corresponds to the nose and upper lip – weighs around 140 kilos. Among other things, its big nose allows it to smell water at a distance of almost 20 kilometers!
TRUMBED
No land animal is more gifted than the elephant. Your penis can reach 1.5 meters in length and weigh 2 kilograms. And – get away! – each ejaculation of the animal is enough to fill a soccer ball with semen!