Elephants and cats both purr. It was once thought that the purr of an elephant was in some way connected with the way they digest food.
Recently, the purring has been proven to be a means of communication. The low, soft sound normally comes when an animal is near but out of eyesight of other elephants.
If threatened, either by an animal or other source, the elephant stops purring, and so do its nearby friends. When an elephant stops purring, it is a warning to all those nearby. When danger leaves, the purring begins again.
It also used to be thought that elephants were afraid of mice. Experiments have proven that this just isn’t true. When a mouse is placed with an elephant, the large animal completely ignores the presence of the little creature, even if it runs all over his feet and climbs up his trunk.
People used to think that African elephants could not be trained. In the early 1900s, a group of Belgians proved them wrong and trained the mighty African elephant by using kindness and love instead of whips.
