{"id":235039,"date":"2022-07-08T16:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T15:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.factstoryhub.com\/?p=235039"},"modified":"2024-12-13T09:22:25","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T09:22:25","slug":"are-elephants-scared-of-mice","status":"publish","type":[],"link":"https:\/\/www.factstoryhub.com\/are-elephants-scared-of-mice\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Elephants Really Scared of Mice?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Remember that scene in Dumbo where he first meets Timothy mouse?\n
There are countless scenes like that on TV where elephants cower at the sight of a mouse.\n
Why would a nearly 14,000 lbs elephant be afraid of a tiny, harmless mouse?\n
It’s not just on TV shows. People have actually spotted elephants running away from mice.\n
Could there be more to these sightings? Read on as we separate fact from fiction.\n
\n
Contrary to popular belief, elephants aren’t scared of mice. A circus elephant trainer, Troy Metzler, set out to test the theory himself.\n
He performed his own elephant and mouse experiment. In his demonstration, Metzler held a mouse in front of an elephant to see its reaction.\n Surprisingly, the elephant didn’t seem interested in the tiny creature.\n So, he proved that a little mouse doesn’t scare the mighty elephant.\n That’s because elephants can’t see very well.\n You might have experienced this too; imagine you’re sitting quietly, and a bug flies by.\n You only spot it in your peripheral vision, but it’s enough to make you run in the opposite direction.\n You could even let out a small scream, and when you settle down, you may find that it was only a harmless ladybug.\n It’s the same for elephants. They can’t see the mouse clearly.\n And the mouse moves so fast that it startles them.\n That also explains why the mouse didn’t move the circus elephant in Metzler’s hand.\n The idea that elephants are afraid of mice had existed long before it became a popular trope in cartoons.\n A Greek fable from as far back as 77 AD supported this belief. In the tale, a mouse climbs an elephant’s trunk and drives him nuts.\n More recently, in the 1600s, a popular explanation for the mice and elephant myth came up.\n Allen Moulin, an Irish physician, believed that elephants didn’t have the small protective cartilage in their throat \u2014 epiglottis.\n This cartilage keeps foreign bodies out to prevent choking. Moulin believed that if the mouse got into the elephant’s throat, it could block its airway.\n And this served as the popular explanation for the relationship between an elephant and a mouse.\n People would realize much later that elephants have epiglottis cartilage.\n So, choking on a mouse isn’t a real risk.\n Furthermore, elephant researcher Richard Lair noted that an elephant could quite easily blow a mouse out of its trunk if one ever climbed in.\n A mouse scurrying around can startle any animal.\n Protective reflexes will make animals jump back, fearing any unexpected creature running around.\n Many animals, such as horses, cats, or dogs, will jump back when a mouse runs by.\n They’re not truly afraid. The mouse just caught them by surprise.\n Elephants might not be afraid of mice, but there’s another tiny animal that scares them.\nWhy do elephants run from mice?\n
\n
Where did the myth come from?\n
\n
Are other animals scared of mice?\n
\n
What tiny animal scares an elephant?\n
\n