Are elephants afraid of mice?

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MythMod

spicy peppers! try salt in mouth works better than milk!!

Are the elephants afraid of the mice, or startled by the moving dung?

I propose that it is because the presence of mice often indicates the presence of human domiciles, so the elephant has "remembered" to stay away from them - she seemed to change direction and continue in the changed direction away from the mouse. Other than that, I have no idea - it is adorable, though.

I was just told by my wife that yes they are afraid of mice because mice can go up inside their trunk. The area inside the trunk is large enough for the mice to survive and they go up to the brain and eat it. So it's instinctive that the elephants stay away from mice (or probably other similarly sized creatures).

Zombie mice? I don't know about that, but having a mouse in your trunk would probably be REALLY painful.

To test this theory, you'd need to suddenly unleash a different animal. A turtle, perhaps, or a guinea pig. Something that's too big to pose an intra-trunk threat.

Sorry Discovery Channel, you'll have to foot the bill for another trip to Africa.

The problem may be that they used a white lab mouse. Small white creatures in an elephant's natural environment are rare at best. The elephants may have been reacting to something novel or unusual. They need to repeat the experiment using 'wild type' mice like those that would typically be found in fields.

in the elephant mice test, the result might not be correct. the elephant might have been frightened by the color of the white object. therefore, the elephant was not scared by the mice but was scared of the white moving objects. In a next experiment, try using a brown or dark color mice and see if the results are the same.
thank you.

Yes , elephants are scared of mice, they crawl up their trunk and sufficate the elephant.

this one quite amused me. I didn't expect a reaction at all... I'm not sure if the elephant was afraid, or simply being cautious not to hurt the mouse. it was kind of cute though

That's true -- avoiding the mouse doesn't necessarily mean that the elephant was afraid. It's would be reasonable that the elephant was just trying to avoid stepping on it. Who wants to scrape squished mice off their feet?

I doubt that mice run up the trunks of elephants though. What could they possibly be looking for in there? And I would think that an elephant would be able to blow them out.

The phrase "Fish in a barrel" predates 9MM handguns and, certainly, mini-guns! But I do recall a restaurant in Wheaton, IL, on the banks of the Fox River that fenced off a side channel of the Fox and kept live (farm bred?) catfish for their customers who wanted FRESH fish. When one was ordered a staff member would go out to this 'pond' with a fishing bow and arrow and, after a bit, have the customer's dinner ready to cook!
Really, 'bow fishing' is not that uncommon! And it would be MUCH easier to shoot one confined to a tiny barrel than one tha was almost swimming free, no?

why not try a fake mouse or a simple cotton ball maybe the elephant was startled by the sudden white against the darker ground and maybe a different color mouse

I have also heard the explanation that they are scared of mice because they can get stuck in the trunk.

I don't know whether the elephant would suffocate. I'm not an expert on elephant physiology, but their breathing passages are probably similar to other mammals, so they could still breathe through their mouths. But it is probably an instinctive fear.

Also, if it got stuck obviously the mouse would eventually die and having a decaying animal in its nose probably would cause serious health problems, possibly including death.

I am disappointed you guys did not think to use brown or gray mice. I really hope you revisit this myth and test a natural colored mouse. I think you would have the same reaction but this could make the difference in the myth.

I'm shocked that the otherwise normally sharp folks on the show didn't think of a couple other possibilities (and tests) for the observations.

First, what if rather than being fearful the elephants were instead simply being careful? Maybe if they find an animal under foot they want to avoid stepping on it. We hear often how smart they are. Maybe they have an understanding (ok, maybe simply an instinct) about their size relative to others, and try to be careful.

Even if that sounds far-fetched, it still begs the question: why didn't they try some other similarly sized animal (or even differently sized)? What if had been a rabbit, or a lizard, or a flightless bird?

I just think before we can conclude "myth confirmed", we have to answer these other questions.

Elephants are likely like horses. Some are starteled by almost anything... especially something new. My ex had a hourse when she was a kid that was startled by sticks or rocks on the side of the road if it did not see it far away first and watch it as it came closer.

I was taught that elephants are weary of mice because if a mouse ever were lodged in the elephant’s truck, the elephant could suffocate.

Hey breglad7, just want to point out that there is a separate forum for discussing that segment of the show (one for each segment). Hop back up a level and you'll see it.

quote:

Originally posted by breglad7:
The phrase "Fish in a barrel" predates 9MM handguns and, certainly, mini-guns! But I do recall a restaurant in Wheaton, IL, on the banks of the Fox River that fenced off a side channel of the Fox and kept live (farm bred?) catfish for their customers who wanted FRESH fish. When one was ordered a staff member would go out to this 'pond' with a fishing bow and arrow and, after a bit, have the customer's dinner ready to cook!
Really, 'bow fishing' is not that uncommon! And it would be MUCH easier to shoot one confined to a tiny barrel than one tha was almost swimming free, no?

The Mythbusters need too try brown/grey mice. If I was used to just seeing grass and dirt beneath my feet, I'd be cautious if I saw a little white thing on the ground, too...