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Think of an animal big enough to eat three times Stephen's weight in one day, fast enough to outrun a human. An animal that can drink six hundred cups of water a day and swim for six hours non-stop, and is happy both in and out of the water.
It's the elephant! |
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Elephants are the largest land animals in the world.
In America, Stephen and Gail rode on Bubbles, who weighs an amazing three tonnes pretty amazing, although elephants can weigh up to twice that! |
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Everything about her is massive from huge ears to a hose-like trunk
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and of course, like all elephants, when it comes to water, she loves to make a big splash!
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The size of an elephant is very dangerous one swipe of the trunk is enough to kill a lion stone dead so it would be impossible to play like this with most elephants.
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But Bubbles isn't most elephants she's a celebrity!
She's worked on Ace Ventura: Pet Detective with Jim Carrey and on Dr Dolittle with Eddie Murphy. She's used to sharing her bath with people.
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Elephants are family animals. They spend loads of time in and around water, and they love spending time with their babies.
And water is the perfect playing ground for splashing and squirting! |
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It's not surprising that elephants love water. They live in some of the hottest countries in the world, where the sun can be a killer. Elephants need to drink 600 cups of water a day just to keep cool! |
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But elephants need to do more than just drink!
Unlike humans, elephants don't have sweat glands, so they can't get rid of their body heat through sweating. So they need to regularly bathe in water. |
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Bubbles' skin is covered in wrinkles and for a very good reason.
When she's in the water, the wrinkles trap water in the folds. And when she's walking around in the hot sun, that water helps to keep her cool. |
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In order to get really soaked, an elephant can lie in the river or use the trunk.
Bubbles uses her trunk to suck up large amounts of water to spray over her head and body very useful if you're a big elephant in a shallow river. |
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And elephants can swim too for up to six hours, non-stop!
They can cover 30 miles a day and totally submerged under the water, too!
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All this, thanks to their fantastic multi-purpose trunks, which act like a snorkel allowing them to breathe when totally submerged. |
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Elephants the biggest land animals in the world, and amazing in the water!
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