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Article: Big dig: a herd of elephants mines an African volcano for a precious mineral.(LIFE)
- Article from:
- Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- February 1, 2008
- Author:
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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Moving in single file, a herd of elephants pads down a long, wide tunnel into the pitch darkness of Kitum Cave in Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano in Africa. Once inside the main cavern, the herd begins its business. For several hours each visit, the elephants strike the walls with their tusks, breaking off lumps of rock. Overhead, fruit bats whiz by.
Why are the elephants mining the mountain? Are they prospecting for diamonds or gold? No. The rock contains sodium sulfate ([Na.sub.2]S[O.sub.4]), a type of salt. The elephants put lumps of the salty rock as big as men's fists into their mouths and crush them between their massive ...