Compared with 13 other mammal species studied, African elephants have the most genes related to smell: 2,000. That’s the most ever discovered in an animal—more than twice the number of olfactory genes in domestic dogs and five times more than in humans, who have about 400, according to research published July 22 in the journal Genome Research. The previous record-holder was rats, which have about 1,200 genes dedicated to smell.
— Read more at Elephants Have 2,000 Genes for Smell—Most Ever Found at National Geographic.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. That is a particularly adorable baby elephant photo.
Yes, great photo. And I didn’t even know about the rats.
No wonder they never forget. Love ellies!