Elephant Edifice Traditional Cache

Our family was out for a warm winter hike and were able to fit in one more geocache in the Meadows area. Parking nearby. Pay attention to park hours.

Elephant Fun Fact: Elephants can get sunburned, so they take care to protect themselves by throwing sand on their backs and head. Adult elephants will cover their young in sand and "shelter" them while sleeping to keep them from getting sunburnt.

The African Forest Elephant is the lesser known of the two African species of elephant found in the Congo Basin. These elephants live 60-70 years and weigh about 6,000 lbs as adults. African Forest Elephants travel in smaller groups than African Savannah Elephants and are also smaller in size. These elephants have been studied less than the elephants of the savannah as they are more difficult to track living in densely wooded areas. African Forest Elephants eat leaves, fruit, and bark and hold a heavy responsibility for germinating seeds in the rainforest. Due to their poor night vision, these elephants rely heavily on their olfactory and hearing senses to guide the way. African Forest Elephants are currently an endangered species due to the high demand for ivory and bushmeat. They have decreased in number from 700,000 to 100,000 in the past 20 years.