Our country, India, is full of diversity and there are countless mysteries of our life. The wild life here also has its own importance, and the biggest example of this is the elephant. Elephants are integral parts of Indian forests, and water plays an important role in their lives. Elephants dig wells for water – This may sound unbelievable, but it is an interesting and important topic that we should know about.
Elephants are known for their intelligence – their problem-solving abilities and powers of understanding are admirable. In an inspiring clip from the John Downer Productions series Serengeti on BBC One, narrated by actress Andjoa Andoh, elephant matriarch Nalla leads the herd to their usual watering spot.
When ‘Nalla’ saw that it was not fit for drinking, he started digging a well skillfully with his beautiful trunk to extract water under the ground. She isn’t digging alone. Kadogo tries his best to help his mother. Finally, Nala reaches what she’s looking for. Water filtered through sand. As soon as it is taken, it is fulfilled. And Kadogo gets the drink he so desperately needs. They are not the only ones who are drinking. The entire herd follows Nala’s lead, digging wells for themselves and everyone else. And drink water together.
As large and impressive as elephants are, there is one thing that humbles them and guides their daily activities – water. Elephants drink water daily (although they can go up to four days without drinking) and typically require up to 200 liters per day to survive, often drowning in this amount in one sitting! They move from one water source to another and are able to smell water even from 5 km away.
They can also detect water underground and are often seen searching for water in dry river beds, using their legs, trunk and teeth to reach invisible aquifers. They perform an important service in this way, creating small waterholes that other animals can access and sometimes enlarging existing waterholes. When it comes to reservoirs, rivers and other bodies of water, elephants always do more than drink… they love bathing, rolling and swimming and generally “playing” in the water. Quenching their thirst, spraying each other and taking the opportunity to make some amazing mud splashes.
