Hats Off To Elephant Moms On World Elephant Day

By R. Siva Kumar - 13 Aug '15 15:56PM

It's World Elephant Day, so let's find out what these small creatures are big about!

Well, they make the best mothers! They do "everything from nursing for years to staying close to their babies for life," according to womenshealthmag. They use their trunks to hug, kiss and honk all the time.

Unfortunately, it has been found that 36,000 elephants are killed each year , which works out to roughly one every 15 minutes. This could just wipe out the whole species in 15 years, according to bbc.

On World Elephant Day, let's figure out what makes elephant mothers our role-models. Here is a list:

They are pregnancy champions: They carry their babies for two years. After delivery, each one weighs an average of 200 pounds, "and elephant mamas squeeze them out without pain meds. Respect."

They never forget their babies: For instance, Me-Bai was removed from mama and sold to an agency in order to give a lift to tourists when she was just 3 ½ years old. However, things became so bad that she had to come back to mom.

The breastfeed their babies for two to three years, and baby elephants require 20 pints of milks a day, according to Taronga, a conservation society in Australia.

Female elephants stay with their mothers till they die. Male elephants become rowdy during teenage and then move away.

They are always single parents. The elephant fathers do not get involved in child-rearing, but the mothers keep them always "well-fed, entertained, protected, and taught important lessons."