The Sensory Benefits of Elephant Trunk Whiskers.
Zoologists have discovered that the purpose of whiskers on elephant trunks is to help the elephant gauge how much pressure to use when squeezing an object. The whiskers are thicker than those of other mammals, and are cylindrical. They do not have follicular nerves that would allow them to be used for sensory purposes. The researchers made close-up video recordings of elephant trunks in action and dissected trunks from elephants that had died to reach their conclusion.