African elephants are the largest mammals walking the Earth, yet they only have four teeth. As you might expect, though, their teeth are tremendous.
Each tooth of an adult elephant is about the size and weight of a brick. They are massive molars set with deep ridges, perfectly designed for the type of eating that elephants do.
Next time you visit the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, watch how the elephants eat. They gather and place food in their mouths with their trunks, then chew for a long time.
The trunk is so sensitive and agile that it can pick up a single raisin as easily as a huge mouthful of hay. A wild elephant will consume hundreds of pounds of grass, leaves and branches each day, and the ridges on its teeth help grind all that plant material.
Over time, because of all the chewing and grinding, the ridges on an elephant’s teeth wear down. What to do? Replace the worn-out set with a new set, that’s what. Long-lived elephants will go through six sets of teeth in their lifetime. Each set lasts slightly longer than the one before.
In case you’re wondering, Samson is still on his first set of teeth.
Marie Robinson is an outreach instructor at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
