Drinking elephant

The trunk of an elephant is a combination of nose and upper lip. The elephant uses his trunk to smell, feel, grasp and drink. For drinking, the water is sucked halfway up the trunk and then squirted into the mouth. This is a skill that needs to be learned: it can take up to a year before a baby elephant understands how to use its trunk! This photo was taken from an underwater hide at a watering hole in Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa.

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