Trunks and tails
Wouldn’t it seem strange to have a hand on the end of your nose? But an
elephant has a sort of hand on the end of its nose.
The elephant’s trunk is its nose. And at the end of the trunk are one or
two little bumps that the elephant can use as fingers. An elephant can
reach up with its trunk and tear leaves from a tree. Then the elephant
curls its trunk down and stuffs the leaves into its mouth. An ele-
African Elephant
An elephant uses the tip of its trunk like a hand.
Howler Monkey
This monkey can use its tail as an extra arm.
phant can pick up a tiny peanut with its trunk. And an elephant can use
its trunk like a club, to hit a tiger and knock it head over heels!
Woolly monkeys, howler monkeys, and some other kinds of South American
monkeys have tails that are nearly as handy as an elephant’s trunk.
These monkeys use their tails to catch hold of branches as the monkeys
swing through the trees. One of these monkeys can hang by its tail from
a branch and pull fruit from another branch with its hands. Having that
kind of tail is just like having an extra arm!
