Happy EleFACT Friday!
Have you heard of the Jacobson’s organ? Named after Ludwig Jacobson, it is also known as the vomeronasal organ or VNO and helps elephants in pheromone detection. Other mammals, reptiles, and amphibians also have one. When elephants can’t collect all the information they need about something through their normal sense of smell, they may pick up the substance or collect it into their trunk. The prehensile structure, or the “finger” at the tips of their trunks, allows the chemosensory stimuli to transfer to the Jacobson’s organ, which is an opening in the roof of their mouths that is connected to the oral and nasal cavities. This behavior is known as the flehmen response and is characterized by the elephant curling its trunk into its mouth. Some are familiar with this response in cats, when they open their mouths after smelling something or horses when they lift their lips.