In a typical day, an elephant spends most of its time foraging for food, using its trunk to pluck leaves, strip bark from trees, or pick up fruits and grasses. Elephants can eat for up to 16 hours a day, consuming hundreds of pounds of vegetation. They often travel in herds, led by a matriarch, and may walk many miles in search of food and water. Along the way, they socialize, communicate with low rumbling sounds, and sometimes bathe or play in rivers and mud to stay cool and protect their skin. At night, they rest standing up or lying down in short naps, always alert to the sounds of the wild around them.
Elephants are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. They enjoy a wide variety of foods, including grasses, leaves, fruits, tree bark, and roots. In the wild, they spend many hours each day looking for food and can eat up to 300 pounds of it! Elephants use their trunks to reach high branches or pull up grass from the ground. They especially love fruits like bananas and mangoes when they can find them. Tree bark is another favorite because it's full of nutrients and helps keep their teeth strong.