Are elephants really afraid of mice?

The rumour that elephants are scared of mice is very persistent and there are whole collections of jokes circulating on this topic. However, these jokes are just as incorrect as all the stories about women who scream and jump on the nearest chair at the sight of a mouse.

Why aren't the elephants scared?

Basically, elephants flee from danger and are afraid of whatever they don't know. Zoo and circus elephants, however, know practically everything about their environment, and they certainly know mice. Whenever large quantities of hay and straw are delivered to a stable, there are often a few mice hidden in the bales.

In their search for food, mice quickly discover the elephants' many leftovers. Furthermore, a stable is an ideal home for a mouse. It has everything it needs: food, nesting material, warmth and quiet hiding places.

Why do the elephant keepers hunt the mice?

Since mice can carry diseases, the elephant keepers work hard to keep down their numbers. There is no such thing, however, as a mouse-free stable.

Are mice afraid of elephants?

A few years ago, a sleep researcher at Zurich University studying elephants filmed them at night for several weeks. The evidence clearly shows that some daredevil mice were not afraid to climb over sleeping elephants in order to steal their leftovers. Yet the elephants' sleep, it was observed, was not disturbed by the little creatures.

Another wrong assumption is that elephants are afraid that while they are asleep, a mouse might crawl up their trunk and suffocate them. Even if this were likely to happen, it would most certainly trigger an enormous sneezing fit which would prove disastrous for the mouse in question.

How do elephants catch the mice?

Neither is it healthy for mice to get too close to elephants when they are awake. The elephants will lash out and kick at them and overly cheeky mice will usually not be able to evade the blow, for elephants are agile animals, capable of moving with unexpected speed. What is more, an elephant's foot measures several mice in size. The effect of an elephant using its foot against a mouse is thus very much like that of a human using a rolled-up newspaper to swat a fly.