Why are elephants afraid of mice
As massive a setback as it may sound, there is at least some substance in the bewildering theory of mice creating flutters inside the stomach of an elephant. The fact is that the peculiar and unpredictable behavior of the rodents like mice confuses the gigantic elephant and induces some reactions which hover precariously above the ‘fear’ mark. However, it is most probably pretty distant from the feeling of fear.
There are theories about the elephant being wary of the mouse, lest it enters its trunk and causes a chaos inside the body. Though it may sound convincing, but there are many who counter this belief by questioning as to why do not other similarly sized creatures cause the same concerns in the elephant’s mind. Unbiased experiments have been conducted in the as to take the curtains off this puzzle. Elephants have been made to live with rats and their behavioral patterns have been cataloged. The results are, however, pretty confusing and quite inconclusive. There are times when the elephant is entirely unconcerned about the presence of the frisky rat near itself, and there are times when the sudden sprint of the rat startles the colossal creature. Ultimately, it all boils down to the state of mind of the elephant. Sometimes, the antics of a rat may bother it, and sometimes they may not. The elephant may see the spontaneous movements of the rodents nearby as warning signs of an approaching predator, causing it to retreat a step or two.
To the observer, this appears as a response to a sensation of fear that is aroused by the other creature present in the vicinity; in this case, the rat. This clouds the assertion that the elephant is scared of the rat. Also, the efforts of the elephant to avoid stepping over the tiny rat may be misinterpreted as an exhibition of its ‘fear.’ The fact that elephants are unperturbed by the rather liberal endeavors of rodents of jumping onto its body also emboldens the premise that elephants are, actually, not even remotely afraid of the presence of mice and the similar lot.