Baby elephants suck their trunks for comfort, much like human babies suck their thumbs.

Elephant calves are born with a sucking reflex similar to human infants, which helps them nurse from their mothers. Because an elephant's trunk contains approximately 40,000 individual muscles but no bones, it requires significant time and practice to develop the motor skills needed for complex tasks like drinking or grasping objects.During the first year of life, calves often suck their trunks as a form of non-nutritive sucking to release endorphins and reduce stress. This behavior is frequently observed by researchers at institutions like the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, where orphaned elephants are monitored for emotional well-being. The trunk is a highly sensitive organ with millions of nerve endings, making the tactile sensation of sucking particularly soothing.While most elephants outgrow this habit as they gain dexterity, it can reappear in older elephants during moments of high anxiety or social conflict. In the wild, this self-soothing mechanism acts as a psychological bridge while the calf transitions from total maternal dependence to independence. Mastery of the trunk is usually complete by age one, allowing the elephant to lift over 350 kilograms and perform delicate maneuvers.