Hobbies And Interests
Cooling
Elephants are large animals that live in warm environments and need to cool themselves frequently. An elephant wallow cools elephants when they lower themselves into its watery recesses. They may spray the water it contains over their ears and heads. Since the blood vessels in an elephant's ears lie near the surface of its skin, the evaporation of the water on an elephant's ears allow for rapid cooling.
Feeding Ground
Elephants may find that wallows situated in a swamp or other environments offer food. They may move around the swampy wallow eating whatever presents itself, including grass, papyrus and herbs. Elephants that find food at or near a wallow may stay in the area for some time if they have no compelling reason to move elsewhere.
Mud Bath
Elephants visiting a wallow often cover themselves in mud. Calves in particular may lay down on their sides and move about to cover themselves in mud. Then they roll to the other side of their bodies and repeat the process. Sometimes calves will climb over one another and until a mud wallow is filled with squirming elephants.
Relief from Bugs and Thirst
Elephants seek relief from bugs and other parasites in a mud wallow by coating themselves in an impenetrable barrier of mud. It may also drink the water that feeds into the wallow -- an elephant can require almost 24 gallons of water on an average day and can drink nearly 40 gallons on other days. Elephants sometimes travel great distances to find water, and a wallow can provide welcome moisture.