Elephant and his paw

Elephant and his paw

The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front. Underneath the feet bones there is a gelatinous layer which acts as an air cushion or damper. For this reason, an elephant can stand for long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie, except when they are sick or crippled. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it deflates when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink into the mud, but can pull the legs easily because their feet downsize when raised.

The elephant is a good swimmer, but can not trot, jump or gallop. It has two floors: the walk and a faster while sharing characteristics with the race. When walking, the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders up and down when the foot is placed on the floor. The faster rate does not correspond to the usual definition of the race because the elephants always have at least one leg is on the ground. Since both hind legs or the front are in the air at the same time, this step is similar to the front and rear legs run at a time.

Walking the normal pace an elephant walking about 3 to 6 km / h but can reach 40 km / h in the race.