Elephants have an awesome way of seeing the world! Yes, elephants are colourblind, which means they don’t see all the colours we do. When it’s bright and sunny, they mainly see two colours: red and green.Â
We humans have three colour sensors in our eyes for red, blue, and green. Imagine having a box of crayons with just three colours – that’s how we see the world. But elephants only get two colours from their crayon box – red and green!
Even though elephants don’t see the world in the same rainbow of colours we do, they still understand everything around them pretty well. They just have their own elephant-style way of looking at things. And guess what else? Some people who are colourblind see the world just like elephants do. They mainly notice blue and yellow, but reds and greens are tricky for them.Â
During the day, elephants see the world one way, but when night falls, their eyes turn into night-vision goggles. They become super sensitive to blue and violet light. This means even when there’s just a tiny bit of moonlight or starlight, elephants can see pretty well.
But, there’s a catch. Elephants can’t see very far. During the day, they can see clearly only up to about as long as a big school bus (that’s around 10 meters). And they can’t see things that are really far away – only up to about 25 metres, which is like the length of a swimming pool.
Also, elephants don’t have great peripheral vision, which means they can’t see things on the side very well. It’s like when you wear a cap with a really big brim and can only see what’s right in front of you.
Imagine not being able to see very far. That’s how it is for elephants. But they have a super-sniffing nose that’s out of this world! Their sense of smell is like having a super-powered nose that can smell things from really, really far away. It’s like they can sniff out a secret cookie jar hidden in the deepest corner of the kitchen!
Elephants communicate through gentle touches and use their large ears to pick up a wide range of sounds.
Plus, they can detect vibrations through the ground with their feet, giving them an exceptional understanding of their surroundings.
This sensory toolkit helps elephants understand their surroundings in a way that’s totally different from us. It’s a reminder of how diverse and amazing the animal kingdom is.
Elephants might not see like we do, but they’ve got their own unique set of skills that make them masters of their environment.
