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InsuranceToTheRescue t1_iuik5ob wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:29 PM

Reply to comment by SEND_PUNS_PLZ in TIL African elephants can exchange information by emitting low-frequency sounds that travel dozens of miles under the ground on the savanna. The sound waves come from the animals' huge vocal cords, and distant elephants “hear” the signals with their highly sensitive feet. by iboughtarock

Cooling. They don't sweat or pant so the large, thin ears provide enough surface area to cool the blood as it circulates through.

On a similar note, that's also why many male mammals have testicles. Normal body temp is too hot for sperm.

yoosernamesarehard t1_iuior8q wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:59 PM

Because weirdly sperm couldn’t have evolved to survive higher body temps -.-

InsuranceToTheRescue t1_iuisus4 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 5:26 PM

It's not survival of the fittest. It's more survival of the good enough.

Astronius-Maximus t1_iuj7wx4 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 7:06 PM

The survival of whatever-the-heck-works.

MajesticAsFook t1_iujwo7s wrote on October 31, 2022 at 9:58 PM

So elephant ears are just biological radiators? Cool TIL