Through darkness and cold: why African elephants regularly descend into the cave

This can only be seen in Africa. Dozens of elephants, driven by an unknown force, go through the pitch darkness of a gloomy cave, descending lower and lower into the dungeon. They are well oriented here, and everything shows that the cave is familiar to them and does not cause them a sense of fear. But what are they doing here?

Kitum Cave is located on the southern slopes of the extinct volcano Elgon, on the border of Kenya and Uganda. This is a rather impressive mountain, whose height is 4,321 meters, and Kitum is one of four caves located on its slopes. This cave has a width of about 60 meters and goes deep into 200 meters.

In the vicinity of Mount Elgon there is a large population of African elephants, as well as buffaloes, antelopes and African predators. And all of them are well aware of the location of the entrance to the Kitum Cave. Moreover, elephants, buffaloes and other ungulates regularly visit the cave, despite the fact that its corridors are not very suitable for walking of such large herbivores, accustomed to the expanses of savannahs.

The solution to such unusual addictions lies in the contents of the cave. It's all about the most common salt - sodium chloride (NaCl), pieces of which are on the walls of the cave in its distant corridors. It is after her that elephants come here, who, with their powerful tusks, are able to chip pieces of salt from the walls and ceiling of the cave. In addition to elephants, there are many buffalo and other herbivores who also feel the need for salt.

The fact is that the diet of herbivores, although it consists of various types of plant food, rich in vitamins and trace elements, but it is still not able to fully satisfy the animal's needs for sodium chloride. Meanwhile, it is sodium that is contained in salt, which plays an important role in many processes in the body of mammals, including humans.

Sodium is important for regulating the water-salt balance and helps to retain moisture in the cells, preventing their dehydration. Under conditions of arid savannahs, such a property of sodium and its necessary amount in the body of elephants is vital. In addition to participating in the water-salt balance, sodium plays an important role in the transmission of nerve impulses in the cells of the nervous system, participates in the work of the cardiovascular system and maintains a normal level of osmotic pressure in body fluids.