Why are elephants afraid of mice?

Question

Seriously, they are! WTF? I always thought this was some kind of myth. Anyone know the answer to this? I wonder if they're afraid of rats or little dogs too - where do they draw the line?

Mythbusters

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXiMs65ZAeU

Answer 1

It is a myth.  The test they did on mythbusters was really poor.

Answer 2

Why would you think the elephant is afraid?  I didn't see any fear from the elephant.  I would sooner say that the elephant cared for the mouse.  It did not run away, or trumpet, or freak out in any way.  It simply stepped aside.  I think that the best conclusion you can draw is that the elephant was conscious of its size, and it was willing to go out of it's way to not trample a smaller creature who was minding his own business.

If you are driving down the street, and you swerve to miss an old lady, would it be reasonable to assume that you were afraid of the old lady?

Answer 3

Usually elephants can't see mice but can smell them. This is kind of like our hearing a noise but not being able to locate the source. It's a little creepy or even outright frightening at times. Once an elephant actually meets a mouse (say in a keeper's hand) it will no longer fear the mouse. There is also something to be said for an elephant not wanting to step on a mouse. It could be polite or sensitive in that way as well. Possibly it just doesn't want to squish it. They don't wear shoes after all.

Answer 4

Elephants are not afraid of mice. The reason for the sentence, "Elephants fear mice." is only because elephants are cowards. But have you seen elephants in circuses or zoos? They have mice crawling around in the hay and stables ALL the time. They never are afraid. And for the mythbusters thing..... I think mythbusters is a very fun show but many of their myths have already been proven by scientific evidence. All they do is try out a few experiments. They never get into real facts and stuff like that. But I do enjoy the show anyways.