Do You Know...

2/20/2011

....what a Pharyngeal Pouch is? A Pharyngeal Pouch is a survival feature unique to the desert-adapted elephants of Namibia. It is a pocket-like structure used to store water in the elephant's bodies in case of emergency. This pouch can store up to ten liters of liquid, which the elephant gains access to through its mouth. Guests were fortunate to view an elephant using his own water supply in the dry Aba Huab River bed while staying at Doro Nawas camp in Damaraland, Namibia, this past October. The animals' search for water was unrequited, so to mitigate the extreme heat and dryness they cooled off using their "pharyngeal pouch" to spray themselves behind the ears and legs, before continuing their journey.

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