I am wondering about the interactions between snakes and elephants... I would imagine snakes avoid elephants so not to be trampled, but if this encounter happened, could a snake puncture elephant skin? is there a snake with enough venom to take down a muture elephant? If so, have elephants evolved to avoid snakes?
2007-07-02 07:24:41 · 5 answers · asked by joelr 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Chances are an elephant is not even going to notice a snake moving through the grass or brush, mainly due to their size. Kinda how you can take a walk through the forest and walk right past a million and one different animals and never even notice them.
As far as taking down an elephant. There are several species of snakes out there that could kill a full grown bull elephant with only a few drops of venom... the problem is that the snake would not be able to puncture the thick hide of an elephant. That is not to say that it could not happen, it is just extremely difficult and near impossible.
If anything I would say the snakes avoid the elephants more than the elephants avoid the snakes. Mainly out of fear of being crushed.
2007-07-02 09:19:12 · answer #1 · answered by The Cheshire 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No, the only thing they fear is human with their blowing guns. Even If legend said that elephants afraid of mice...it's just a rumour. Elephants can't see very well, they recon each other by their smell and sounds. and seeing such little thing like snake...the blur view only indicates that there something small coming. Snake will avoid this kind of encounter, even in rainforest such as sumatra or kalimantan forest, where snakes ussualy hide in trees, they would sit still waiting the elephants to pass. Never have any thinking to attack the elephants. animal only attack when they felt threatened or hunting for food. snakes know that it's better to avoid elephants than wasting its precious venoms to attack it ( snakes can't eat an elephants anyway, too big) king cobra would instantly kill an elephants with few venom drops, but they wouldn't sacrife it.
2007-07-02 16:43:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some snakes HAVE got enough poisionous vemon to kill an elephant, one snake i know of is the King Cobra.
However as someone else has said, the snake cannot get its teeth through the elephants hard skin, however if an adult elephant was resting on the ground and a snake (cobra) was able to bite its belly then YES its poision can kill it. Saying this though, ALL snakes usually avoid elephants of fear of being trampled to death.
2007-07-02 10:01:48 · answer #3 · answered by Mystic Magic 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I doubt a snake could puncture the skin of an elephant, maybe if the belly of the elephant is softer.
The toxin from some snakes could definitely take it down though, if it managed to break the skin.
2007-07-02 07:32:37 · answer #4 · answered by therealchuckbales 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes a snake could take down and elephant if venomous all it haves to do is penetrate with his fangs and there you go unless treated. now seance the elephant is so big it would take the venom longer to kill or make sick so seance (it is said) that the elephants have a seance of morning and not liking to see others suffer they would be afraid of snakes
2007-07-02 15:11:37 · answer #5 · answered by DRAGON 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋