Elephants, the giants of the animal kingdom, surprisingly need very little sleep. Recent research reveals that wild African elephants sleep only around two hours a day and can even go nearly two days without resting.
This study, conducted on free-ranging African elephant matriarchs in Botswana’s Chobe National Park, monitored their sleep patterns for 35 days.
Unlike previous research, which primarily focused on captive elephants, this study aimed to capture a more accurate picture of elephants sleep in their natural habitat.
For precision, the researchers equipped the elephants with a trunk-implanted electronic device to monitor sleep and a gyroscope-equipped collar to track their position.
The findings indicated that these elephants sleep less than any other land mammal, averaging only two hours daily.
During periods of disturbance, such as potential threats from lions or poachers, they were observed to go without sleep for as long as 46 hours, covering distances of up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles).
Additionally, the elephants only lay down to sleep every few nights, which likely limits their access to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the phase associated with dreaming.
The study’s lead author, Professor Paul Manger of the University of the Witwatersrand, highlighted that wild elephants’ sleep patterns differ significantly from those of elephants in captivity, who average four to six hours of sleep per day.
According to Manger, the limited sleep in the wild appears linked to their large size, and REM sleep in these elephants may only occur every three to four days.
These findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, offer new insights into the unique sleep habits of wild elephants and suggest their remarkable ability to function on minimal rest.
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