Many of today’s adults might recall a very peculiar scene in various children’s books and movies. A gigantic elephant cowering at the sight of a tiny mouse!

Is this actually true? This myth dates back to the late 1600s, when it was believed that elephants fear mice out of worry that these little creatures could climb up their trunk and suffocate them!

...but due to the fact that mice are small in size and move quickly

This is very unlikely, as any foreign body lodged in an elephant’s trunk could probably be expelled by sneezing. Elephants might get startled when mice rush past them since they are large animals who move slowly and have poor vision.

Elephants do not get startled out of fear of mice, but due to the fact that mice are small in size and move quickly. In fact, any organism that makes sudden movements around an elephant might startle it.