We Went Inside an Elephant Cave I Underground Salt-mining
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2020
- ↠ Want to get more insights? Check out our WE WENT INSIDE series: • We Went Inside
Elephants subsist on foraged vegetation, but even the thick forests of the Eastern Rift Mountains can’t always provide them with all the minerals they need to stay healthy. Females in particular often supplement their diets by eating soil or rock. ↠Subscribe: th-cam.com/users/TerraMaterO...
But Mount Elgon, on the border between Uganda and Kenya, is the scene for an even more unique phenomenon. Here, savannah elephants have learned to mine a network of hidden caves for salt and mineral deposits. We follow them deep inside the extinct volcano to learn more about this incredible behavior…
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#terramatters
Producer: Eva Schmidt
Assistant Producer: Katrin Blaß
Graphics: Jörg Eisenprobst
Voice-Over: Julian Nightingall
AudioMix: Stefan Fiedler
Original Production:
"Wild Uganda", a co-production of Terra Mater Factual Studios and National Geographic and Doclights/NDR Naturfilm produced by Cosmos Factory Filmproduktion.
Production:
Terra Mater Factual Studios GmbH
social@terramater.com
@terramater
Sources:
Speleogenesis of the Mount Elgon elephant caves, Kenya, Geological Society of America, Special Paper 404, 2006
Formation of cave salts and utilization by elephants in the Mount Elgon region,
Kenya, Article in Geological Society London Special Publications, January 1996
Let‘s address the natrium / sodium confusion: While throughout most of the English-speaking countries Na is called “sodium”, we’re actually based in Austria. Here in central and northern Europe, the 11th element on the periodic table is called by its original Latin name, “natrium”. How do you call it in your language?
Sodium 🇮🇳
Lewra in my language
ナトリウム(Natoriumu) 🇯🇵
Chi in my language 😬
Natrium as well!
Imagine chillin in a cave and a whole ass elephant turns up to eat salty rocks
And then the elephants just randomly says "The chances of being killed by an elephant inside a cave are low, but never zero."
@@schistoceragergaria Wow that's so cheesy... but in a good way
A whole ass elephant? As opposed to part of an elephant? 😂
I've seen this exact thing... on acid
@@skycorrigan6511 Nice. I get harassed by the voice of my absent but disappointed mother whenever I do drugs. Not as pleasant as an elephant.
So those old rock paintings of Mammoths were actually selfies
And the "Best comment of the week" award goes right your way :D
💀
Lol
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA YASSSSS
That was a very good comment👍👍
You gotta be careful when spelunking, you never know when you'll run into those dang sneaky cave elephants!
Great comment lol
Time to contact mojang 😳
hm
Watch out for the sneaky Knysna forest elephants too.
Why is Donald Trump pretty and I am not? But why does he only have a wife but I have TWO HANDSOME GIRLFRIENDS who I show off in my masterpiece YT videos? Do you know the answer, dear Nacho
If I just explored caves for fun and found a whole god damn living elephant mining for salt, i'd shit myself.
With a fevered imagination in the dark, an elephant would look like Chthulhu. Panic attack material
I'd be more concerned at half an elephant... like something has gotta be big to make half an elephant
well then have fun in kongo or africa and wherever else it would happen
Gross
Now I'm just curious which elephant was the first to go spelunking.
His name was Babar. King of the elephants.
@@OpenBiolabsGuy bro
It was by accident, when a wingsuitted pachyderm inadvertently flew/glided into a cave
i learned a new word today thank you
"Brooo ya'll gotta come check out this cave I found it's cool af, idk why but the walls taste so good bruh."
"Bro why you lickin walls?"
My name is Bukenya, I come from Uganda, Mt Elgon is on our border with Kenya, but even at my age, I had never known about this phenomenon.
We're always in the hunt for new fascinating stories!
Great to hear that you appreciate our work, thanks!
p.s.: Greetings to Uganda! 🤗
Jirani, greetings from Kenya. Seems we both didn't know of this phenomenon, I have actually just learnt about this today.
*Hello I'm under the watah please help me-*
@@ericmerante8745 all of sudden
lmao 😂😂😂
nice one😂
problaly going to kill them all now...
Humans: “wow what an exceptional moment!”
Elephant: 👁👅👁 saLTy
All these flavors and you had to pick salty
@@ms.pirate salt is the best spice in the world
@@harunaslan6057 you’re wrong, it’s Parmesan cheese
@@diegobordones2106 that is not a spice
@@harunaslan6057 I think salt is considered a seasoning, things like turmeric are considered spices.
Imagine walking through a dark cave and hearing the elephants heavy breathing not knowing
Unless you can see in the pitch dark, follow that sound if you ever want out of there.
Mike Mondano Don’t wanna bump into the elephant and have it stomp me to death out of panic
@@thefordlord9893 who whouldnt panic at a small person touching you in a pitch black cave
@@yoyomine510 you do be kinda right tho ngl no cap
Dark souls tomb of giants flashbacks.
imagine if an archaologist found that cave with no context? guarenteed no one would guess elephants were mining salt
This reminds me of the caves made by extinct giant sloths (megatherium) in South America.
Theyd figure it out from the footprints pretty quickly
The water fall would wash away any foot prints. Humans would probably be suspect for the scraping.
@@mop2254 bro that was totally unnecessary lol. You should try to be a less toxic person
@@bas73971 he is right though...
Elephant: mmMmMmMm salty rock
🤤
😋 yummmm
Earth boogers
Rock salt.. js
*I READ THAT IN YODAS VOICE*
Imagine being the dude who discovered this.Youre just exploring a cave with little light from your flashlight and then you notice giant footprints and scratch marks all over the place and then you start hearing sounds that become louder and louder as time passes. You decide to leave out of fear and when you turn around you see this giant creature in the dark with tusks and a long ass tenticle on its face that could kill you by steping on you
I like how you make elephants out as beasts 🤣
@@brig.gen.georgiiisserson7226 they literally are beasts
the best giveaway are the feces from the elephants
@@brig.gen.georgiiisserson7226
Because they are…. Their temperament kills a lot of humans every year.. even more than lions.. not sure if more than hippos
„It ain‘t much, but it‘s honest work“
Elephant, 2020
as long as their intention is good then it's fine
,,Why did you write it like this”
@@ADL1337 a wild animals only intention pretty much is survival
@@brandonplays702 I said that as a reference to Immanuel Kant's philosophy
imagine going caving at night and you just find a bunch of elephants vibing
That's some lovecraft type shit. What would you do with that knowledge.
A cave rave/raid
If you went in without light you would just hear giant animals moving around. Terrifying
@@nautilusstopmotion8304 Yup. Do you think this is where tales of trolls and ogres living in caves come from?
@@antton9189 those are mostly in Europe tho. No native elephants in Europe.
Plot twist: They're just addicts going on one day at a time.
Hey dont expose him, he’s trying his best to get clean
Aren't we all?
Plot twist; Your comment is stupid.
@@unacceptableviews4404 can't find it.
go on cut down your salt
Female elephant: I'm pregnant. Go get me some salty rocks for the upcoming kid.
Male elephant: Help yourself.
Elephants are matriarchal, I don’t think they’d bother asking the male elephants do to stuff for them
@@awuoroawuor You missed the joke :/
All elephants prolly have daddy issues, seeing as how they’re all dead beat dads
@@awuoroawuor lool you would know that
@hͪiͥ,̓ ᴛⷮhͪaͣnᴋⷦs͛ foͦrͬ rͬeͤaͣdͩiͥng mͫy cͨoͦmͫmͫeͤnᴛⷮ
If TH-cam comments were ever funny, lele pons would be the best comedian in the entire world.
Fact: Elephants mines salt.
Me: I am awake at night again.
Context: Natrium is Sodium
Yeah I wondered why they used that word
Thank you Nanba Rangarajan ✋
@@viruj4th Yeppudi Tamil nu Therinjudhu ?
@@krrangarajan5391 name
They're using the latin word like it's english
I find it fascinating that animals such as the elephant and the ibex actually know that their body needs salt to survive and will go to great lengths to reach it.
sometimes even humans dont know how to increase their mineral intake (me fr)
Cave Monster: Damn I can't wait to scare an animal or human and eat it
*Elephant herd enters cave
Cave Monster: Nevermind...
Goblins: ABORT MISSION! RETREAT! RETREAT!!!
The video quality, the story, the sound quality... everything of this channel is awesome. Deserves 1M+ subscribers.
Wow, thank you! 💛
We're trying out best and it's great to hear that you appreciate our work!
Your support means the world to us!
Also enjoyed this video thanks
Elephant miners! Now I have seen almost everything.
Yes you have. Now you can close your eyes and rest for eternity.
Anaclet Williams 😂
I eagerly await scuba cow
Google the book "The delectable negro "
The fact that they go deep underground and mine for minerals to fulfill their daily requirement is just astonishing, may God bless those elephants 🐘 ❤
don't blame god
@@user-th7gd7ge4p yes, a human male decided to listen to his wife and eat a tree fruit, and now elephants have to eat cave wall. troof.
"over time, they've modified and enlarged the caves, digging deeper and deeper into the mountain"
The elephants dug too greedily and too deep. You know what they awoke in the darkness.
Did they find the circus and clowns?
They found a horrid voice, asking them to dig and so they dug. Until a pregnant one fell, in utter thirst and a mouth full of salt, the dehydration and shriveled trunks found the others next. They dug For the voice did not stop, “dig” the voice decreed. Their tusks went pale and became so minute that they were barely noticeable anymore. Then they had to clear the spiky, crunchy ground by rubbing their feet on it until they couldn’t stand up anymore. Next they dug by squabbling back and forth, this caused their stomach cavity to rip apart and their rib cage to crush in. When the last one couldn’t even open its mouth, in all its saltines, when she could only keep her right eye open for the other one hurt too much and had crinkles of bitter salt drilled deep within, because of the swelling it looked like a lump of flesh had grown out of the eye socket. At that moment she thought to herself “Ah, i’ve been dug open.” And so she closed her right eye. It’s eerie luster not to be seen again for they had tried to dig in, when they were being dug out.
@@tahmkenchusta5852 The fuck-
@@tahmkenchusta5852 uh i will have nightmares now-
I grew up learning Na was the chemical symbol of Sodium. I see Natrium is the other name. Glad to finally have the closure for one of those unanswered questions.
Explains the Na symbol too
@@neurofiedyamato8763 And by extension, that lame chemistry joke we've all heard:
_"I was about to make a joke about sodium, but I thought _*_Na"_*
Exactly.
K for Phosphorus is from the god Kalium which the chemical use to be called. Kalium was the light bearer
Do they have a light bearer in your religion?
Thanks to Caspian Report for this suggestion.
Glad to have you here!
Yep caspian report introduce me to these great guys
same
In all the years of chemistry classes through high-school and uni I've never actually heard anyone call sodium natrium. Never even questioned why it was Na
"This African elephant is on an unusual mission."
**Mission: Impossible theme starts playing as the elephant pulls out her spy gear**
😐
:I
Did you know that elephants also go underground? Leave a comment with your favourite elephant fun fact! 🐘
learning a bit about elephants from your channel such as elephants standing on two legs and now this
I was amazed
Elephants have great memory and can remember human faces and even locations.
Great video as always.
@@visionshader6549 It's really awesome that elephants are that smart!
Thanks, we really appreciate your support!
It's not about they go underground that fascinated me, they learned to consume natrium from a rock and salt!! How they know? Nature is full of mystery
This channel has the most interesting stories.
Thank you! We try our best to update you all with the most interesting topics on nature and wildlife as well as the latest conservation & the environment news.
@@terramater thanks for the amazing and educational content :D
Thank you for the recommendation 😃
Africa is extraordinary. From the beastly beast to the food and culture. I love it!
As a Kenyan that has travelled to and even lived in Mt Elgon for 4 months, it is interesting that I never knew elephants exist in the mountain, let alone them being capable of mining minerals. Glad to learn about this today. Next time I go in that Mt. Elgon direction, I will definitely be on the lookout for the elephants and the caves.
Be careful with Marburg Virus
The problem is how animals knows what they need, and people dont know...
Good question...
Humans are more intuitive than one may think. In precolumbian times, Aztecs ate beans and maize on a daily basis; and those two ingridients together can provide all the protein human bodies need. In the middle ages, a technique for agriculture was practiced in which farmers would divide their plots of land in three parts, in such a way as, once the soil were completely exploited of nutrienta, then it would be left to rest, replenishing with the husks and leftovers of the other crops. I believe nowdays we are not as intuitive because of many factors of our lifestyle, one being our ad and media consumption; the fact that ads bombard us with information about our "needs" in order to buy them... We are not left with space and energy to have some introspection about our needs.
Maybe it's because knowing and acting are different things. Humans know what they need but they don't do it. Elephants don't know squat about nutrients but they do things to get them. Given a chance elephants will overeat just like humans. They're stupid animals just like us.
@@myothersoul1953 What we know?
I like salt too
That's incredible when you consider the elephants discovered salty rocc by getting lost in a mountain and deciding 'fuck it how does cave taste.'
Lol they probably started at the entrence and by the time they went deeper in the cave...
Human cultures of the old have immensely valued these natural rock deposits. We see animals valuing the same everywhere. Mountain goats climb to treacherous heights at great risk, to lick salt rocks. And here we see elephants. Salt is essential to life.
Caves of Mount Elgon..Sounds sth straight outta Lord Of The Rings.
The Caves of Elgon - where the Oliphants roam
Lord of the Caves: Nights of Natrium
This is how cave trolls evolved
🇰🇪🇰🇪
@@Tempusverum oliphant vs the squamish indian tribe is sad legal precedent
Imagine going into a cave and instead of bats, you see elephants.
Would definitely be a surprise! 😉
I would prefer the elephants to bats.
Pink Elephants! Take them away, take them away!
Elephants are really very smart , they have death rituals, strong emotions and bonding , knowledge and even worship moon , now they mine salt , incredible ❤
Worship moon ??
@@PrakashSharma-ez1ce , yaa , researchers have found that along with humans , elephants worship moon whereas dolphins worship stars , you Google it , I dint believed it for the first time, but its true
I would have never guessed Elephants did this! They never cease to amaze me.
I live near Mt. Elgon. The elephants do not eat bamboo as you claim. Even in your videos there is no bamboo. Bamboo does not grow here naturally unless by farmers. Just fyi. Thanks for the video though. Very interesting.
there is bamboo after the forest line... Refresh your geography.
Be careful with Marburg Virus
Salt is a necessary part of an elephant's diet, they're generally found in hotter climates, and the salt aids in retaining water. ... A large bull African elephant's tusks may weigh as much as 130 pounds each, which is a mixture of dentine, calcium, and salt.
Archeologist : we have found a cave that become first human salt mining
What actually is : a herd of elephant tear down those cave 😂😂😂
That is so cool. They even dig their own tunnels. After a beautiful day foraging in the sun it's back to the salt mines!
They crave that mineral: the sequel
I love learning about animals and nature and this channel has to be the first ever to actually show animals that I have never heard of like numbats or those three horned pigs. Never seen this behavior with elephants either! VERY UNDERRATED channel! Def earned my sub! Keep up the good work! EDIT: also impressed that you site resources so many channels don’t which is unprofessional so good for y’all!
It blows my mind how animals can figure this stuff out. Of course, elephants are quite intelligent and empathic creatures, but how they figured out what's missing in their diet and how to get it is amazing
Elephant: "This tree needs more salt, i guess i will go for some from the store later"
Next level documentary , amazing
Wow, thank you!
This is insane... I was today years old when I learned that elephants and I both love salt
you face makes it look like you have a bit too much
@@xxskylarmnxx6296 *your
okay then your 'smart ass' face makes it look like you eat to much
@@xxskylarmnxx6296 your dark ass flawed perception that attacks a random persons profile pic denotes it’s you who who is salty.
@once_upon_a_time in_a_land_far_far_away I don’t fight but if someone starts something.... imma finish it.
I dont even know what to concentrate on. This fascinating behaviour of the elephants or the exceptional beautiful landscape around this vulcano. Mindblowing
These shows how much knowledge an elephant possesses...
Love the topics you cover.
May be you could try making longer videos covering more details because the topics are so interesting!
Oh wow, thanks!
It's great to hear that you want to see more! 🤗
We're a small team but and we definitely want to produce longer videos in the future.
Stay tuned because there is much more to come!
Now thats fascinating!! I didn’t know that but now thanks to you I can be part of such an amazing experience. 🐘🐘❤️
Glad you enjoyed it Elena! 🐘♥️
If you click the bell button, you'll get a notification for all our upcoming stories. 🤗
That one elephant who got lost in the cave: fuck it es hora de comer
That baby elephant is like "...mom? Where are we?"
Wow this is Amazing. 😃
I hope none Elephants don't get stuck or injured in the caves.🐘
Great show, I loved how you researched what minerals the Elephants are getting from the caves.
Keep up the good work. 😉👌
Stay Awesome. 😎👍
U deserve way more subs, really interesting videos.
Thanks, we really appreciate that! ♥️
I actually learned something new today. I am surprised that I had never heard about this before. What a great bit of info! I wish they would have shown the cave lit as well (not while the elephants were there, of course) so we could see the ground structure.
Well it's a scary cave,the first ever reported case of ebola may have originated from there
I would've never known this was a real thing, bless this videooo
This channel is sure to grow exponentially within a few short years. Great content, fantastic editing and superb narration. What a fantastic job you have done. You should be proud of yourselves 🔥🔥
This is the kind of content you'll see, someday, getting millions(if not tens of millions) of views. Saw your comment on Great Big Story's video, I really think you guys could fill the hole they left!! Keep it up :)
Wow, thank you! ♥️
Your comment means the world to us! :)
p.s.: we're looking forward to your feedback!
Just found this channel in my recommended and subscribed, amazing video!
This is genuinely incredible.
This channel is really interesting and nice. Nice job!
Also fun fact: Elephants.. r cute
Thanks so much! 🤗
@@terramater u deserve more recognition thou 😭
Anyways nice job keep it up!
Elephants are cute and fascinating
Interesting... As amazing as this info is, I am amazed how your team was able to capture this video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
We're always trying our best. 😉
Incredible footage. Thanks for sharing
Without you I would never know about this unusual behaviour. Thank you. Amazing content 👌👏
This was very interesting to know. How wonderfully nature guides the she-elephant to the right nutrition.
Fascinating right?
Imagine being the first elephant who thought of going into a cave to eat rocks . Who dafuq taught the elephants mining
Omg these chicks are miners and elephants. That’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard.
Man, that's just fascinating. So these pregnant elephants are supplementing their diets with the minerals from this cave. So cool.
Elephants are so smart
Such an amazing animal
Elephants are really fascinating!
That was absolutely fascinating!
Didint know Elephants had this kind of behavior! Thats cool!
Great video - note that in English, Na is called Sodium. I think it's Natrium in most other languages.
Mount Elgon was first mined by the Elves, then the Dwarves and then lastly the Elephants.
Oliphants
Elves mining a mountain? *First time I'm hearing that.*
@@MrDibara first there were the Elves my friend.
I haven't been this impressed in a while.
Wow.. never knew they di that! Thanks for sharing 👍
elephants eating salt and ebola that cave is madness
Imagine exploring a cave and then seeing a herd of elephants. I would assume I was somehow hallucinating.
The way they mine are so cute and fun to watch.
this video should be linked to all people saying (Elephants are smart), I mean, yeah they are smart, but this is the evidence we need.
drawing a flower is hardly a thing, kids do it, but no kid can go mining for nutritional value in an extinct volcano.
I can totally imagine that this could be responsible for certain mythological creatures in caves.
No
It’s so strange to see elephants in a cave.
This is why they'll never run out of ideas for new pokemon. The real natural world is full of fantastic creatures like these
Elephant: hmmm salt
Me: thinking he is snorting cocaine
0:23 - Uhm, I don't come here for the music, but I was really vibin' with that song.
It's not mentioned in the description, so, could anyone be a peach and write down it's name for me?
Hi Claudiu, glad you like the song!
Here you go: th-cam.com/video/m91J46BnmJU/w-d-xo.html 😉
@@terramater Could you do the same for the song at 03:00?
1:37 more thn large footsteps
Imagine being a caveman, you find a nice empty cave and then you hear these enormous grunts from these monsters you can't see that have horns and a face arm
Elephant memory is so good that they probably have a mental map of the cave networks.
"Imagine using your nose just to get salt"
- this joke came from the hand gang
There's a cocaine joke running around in here somewhere, but I haven't caught it yet.
@@SkippertheBart given enough time, im sure we can sniff it out somewhere
@@dofyx1847
You're thinking along the right lines.
Should’ve never shown colonist this....I hope they don’t decide to go “trophy hunting!”
Elephants rubbing their trunks on cave walls for salt is my new go to asmr
this is one of the coolest video that I found on youtube
Wait elephants go underground??
Fascinating, right?
Elephants; I have two jobs, day and night eater, any vacancy?
Awesome place to visit.. Cool temperatures & serene, I can't wait to to visit the place again!
So you don't know that you can be infected with one of the deadliest viruses in the world and have one of the most horrible deaths you can imagine, right?
Terra Matter, thank you for your insightful upload.
People: sees Elephant digging in cave
Me: sees copprajah (steel type elephant pokemon with excavator trunk)