Why does elephant have big ears?

The main reason they are so large is to keep the elephants cool. The blood runs extremely close to the surface of the skin in the ears so when the blood is pumped through the ears as they are waved it cools the blood... which is then sent through the entire body.





The ears are also used as a way to signal one another or other animals be it friend or foe. They can also be used to tell elephant A from elephant B as each elephants ears are different (like fingerprints). Also, they are used to pick up sounds (duh, they are ears :) ). Elephants are almost constantly talking to one over huge distances (the pitch is out of our hearing range) and the ears help to pick up those sounds.

Why does elephant have big ears?
"The enormous ears of elephants act as cooling devices. The gigantic earflaps (which can measure up to 2 square metres (21.5 square feet) are equipped with an intricate web of blood vessels. When the animal flaps its ears, the blood temperature lowers by as much as 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit)."





http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/afesg...
Reply:to help keep it cool (which is why an african elephant has bigger ears than indian elephant)... more surface area = more places to lose heat.


same reason a jack rabbit has such large ears
Reply:cooling itself and keeping away the flies