Study Explains Why Elephant Can't Jump - News18

Elephants are considered to be the most powerful animal in the jungle. While the lion is surely the king of the jungle, elephants’ huge structure leaves almost every animal scared. Elephants have many qualities like the excellent smell, they have complex social lives and rarely get cancer. But did you know elephants couldn’t jump? Well, that’s correct.

In this article, we are telling you the reason behind the same. There have been many studies on elephants but none has ever been able to find out the exact reason why they can’t jump. According to a Live Science report, elephants can’t jump because of their body structure.

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Professor John Hutchinson of The Royal Veterinary College London says that the muscles of the elephants’ feet are extremely weak and their ankles are not as flexible as other animals. In addition, their weight is extremely heavy. All these reasons make it impossible for them to jump.

John Hutchinson told Live Science, “Animals that jump need flexible ankles and really strong Achilles tendons and calf muscles, and elephants have really wimpy lower-leg muscles and not very flexible ankles." This is also the reason why elephants move slowly.

The study also shows that elephants are unable to go faster than 15 mph (about 24 km/h). John Hutchinson also asserted that it was best that elephants didn’t jump as it can cause crippling injuries. He also said that people believe that if the animal is small and flexible, it can easily jump and save its own life. The large body of elephants is enough to save their lives and they don’t need to jump. “Being big is a defence in and of itself," John Hutchinson said.

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John added that it’s difficult to say why elephants don’t jump because scientists are yet to prove the same. “Maybe elephants are choosing not to jump, and they’re just being shy about it," John Hutchinson concluded.

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