A study found that Asian elephants in captivity had a lower fat percentage than humans and rarely faced the problem of being overweight.
Experts from the University of Alabama (UK) are testing captive elephants, including fitting them with a tracking device.
The results showed that on average, a male elephant has an 8.5% fat percentage and a female elephant 10%. While this human index is between 6 – 31%.
Captive elephants also travel the same distances as live elephants which are “free” every day.
Like humans, elephants with excess fat are more likely to develop heart disease, arthritis, and infertility than others. “Elephants can also develop a diabetic-like condition,” said researcher Daniella Chusyd.
However, it is very difficult to distinguish between fat and muscle in the body of an elephant. Also according to the study, infertility elephants are the ones with the lowest percentage of body fat.
One of the animals with the highest percentage of fat is the blue whale, with a fall rate of around 35%, which equates to around 63 tons compared to their size of around 180 tons.
