Discover the incredible ways elephants use their trunks to sense and communicate information and emotion.



As a breeze blows through the savannah, a snakeshaped tube stretches into the air and scans the horizon like a periscope. But it’s not seeing— it’s sniffing. Containing no bones and an estimated 40,000 muscles, an elephant trunk is one of the most versatile tools in the animal kingdom. Chase LaDue and Bruce Schulte detail the incredible capabilities of these agile appendages.

Lesson by Chase LaDue and Bruce A. Schulte, directed by Petya Zlateva.

Support Our NonProfit Mission

Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Check out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop


Connect With Us

Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram


Keep Learning

View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/thesecret...
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/thesecret...


Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Janice ESL, Vasundhar, Dessislava Vassileva, Denka Wee, Daru Bhargav, Brett Kaufman, Amy, Michael Clement, Christopher Lye, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Max Salas, Xavi Ramos, Khoa Nguyen Anh, Ron Kakar, Jennifer Heald, flóra lili donáti, Megulo Abebe, TAO7 HORUS, isolwi, Linh Tran, Vedasheersh, Michael Chang, Alexander Gruber, Irene Y., Kate Sem, VPpurplebelt, Ujjwal Dasu, Winnie Yeung, Giovanna Suleiman Dores, Moritz Heinz, Theunis Groenewald, Võ Thiên Kim, JasonD, Terran Gimpel, Dillon Jason Ramai, Gareth Thomas, Talia Sari, Allen , Kevin Fowler, Sarat Chandra Vegunta, Gautam, Mahina Bachiller, Bruce Vieira Lopes, Charmaine Hanson, Paul AldredBann and Thawsitt.