Elephants: Smells Like More

Elephants can sense quantity of food by smell alone. Researchers offered several elephants their favorite snack, sunflower seeds, in buckets covered with perforated lids so they could smell but not see inside. When offered a choice between a bucket with 30 seeds and one with 180 seeds, the animals consistently chose the bucket with more seeds.

When the lids were solid and the elephants couldn’t smell the seeds, they were unable to distinguish between the buckets.

This ability, possibly unique among animals, has obvious survival benefits. Elephants often range over large areas and undertake long journeys between food and water sources. If a leader misjudges the direction to the next meal, it could mean disaster for the herd. So smelling quantities that are far away can keep the herd alive.

These show-stopping creatures are capable of sensory feats we never would have put together, like a proboscis that measures out grub from a distance. But God not only thought about these connections, he designed them for the good of his beloved creatures and for his glory.

Article was taken from Answers magazine, November–December, 2019, 21.