The phenomenon of hairy elephant calves: is the legacy of mammoths still alive? (5 photos)

Have you ever seen a live baby mammoth? No? I will show you now! Admire the photo: no photoshop, everything is pure truth. Here is a hairy proboscis!





Can you tell me your stylist's number? I also want to trim my bangs!

Okay, we were half lying. In fact, this is a baby Indian elephant. But he really is hairy! After a while, most of the fur falls out, but not completely. All their lives these giants remain slightly fluffy. Why is this happening? Is this really a sign of evolution and the fact that modern Asian elephants are the ancestors of mammoths?



When I went for waxing before I knew how much it hurt.

Yes, some time ago the hairiness of elephant calves was explained by this very theory. Indian giants were recorded either as the ancestors of the extinct hairy mammoths, or, conversely, as their descendants. Because in addition to hair, proboscideans have a couple of other anatomical features that may indicate close family ties.





Some individuals, even after growing up, remain partially woolly.

Later, they understood the genetics of proboscideans better and came to the conclusion: elephants and mammoths do not have a direct blood connection. Moreover, wool cannot in any way indicate kinship: not only Indian, but also African elephants have fluff. Yes, a little less, but there it is! And they, for a moment, separated from the evolutionary branch of the elephant-morphs about 7 million years ago, while the Indians, together with mammoths, did this only 2.6 million years ago.



The African elephant's down is very thin, but no less necessary!

Consequently, proboscideans received their hair from another, more distant ancestor. Which is not surprising, since almost all mammals today have hair. And if scientists quickly resolved the question of the origin of wool, then why do elephants need this inheritance, they thought a little longer. According to early theories, the sparse hairs on the skin of elephants act as vibrissae - tactile hairs. However, more recent research indicates that elephants use wool... for cooling! What a surprise!



Mom, are you sure that they won’t laugh at me with my new hairstyle?

Scientists have found that at a density below 300 thousand hairs per square meter of skin, these same hairs begin to work as heat sinks. They increase the surface area of the elephant's body and help it get rid of the heat. According to research, areas of elephant skin with hair transfer heat 20% more efficiently! And this is very important in the conditions where giants live.