There are two species of elephant on earth, the African and the Indian. African elephants have larger ears and longer tusks than Indian elephants. Elephants are the largest land mammals alive today, sometimes weighing over 6 tonnes. They can also live for 70 years. The most fascinating thing about elephants is their long nose, called a trunk.

An elephant's trunk is a really wonderful thing. Although, like all noses, it is used for breathing, it has a number of other important uses. In fact, elephants could not survive without it. They use it as a huge 'drinking straw' to suck up water, which is then squirted into their mouths. Since elephants have short necks they would find it difficult to drink if they had to put their mouths into the water. They also use their trunks to give themselves a shower! Amazingly, elephants have about 50,000 muscles in their trunk. They can use them to tear branches from trees, and to pick fruit and leaves for food. They can also pick up things as small as a pin, because the end of the trunk is shaped like two fingers, and is very sensitive.

Did elephants get their amazing trunks through evolution? It is impossible to believe that gradual changes 'over millions of years' could turn an ordinary nose into a trunk, and also produce those 50,000 special muscles, and the brain connections which are needed to make them work. No indeed, elephants were designed by God the Creator.

Reproduced by kind permission from Creation Resources Trust ©