Elephants, the majestic giants of the animal kingdom, are not just known for their impressive size and intelligence, but also for a unique dental feature: throughout their long lives, they cycle through five sets of teeth. This remarkable adaptation is essential for their survival, considering their diet consists mainly of coarse vegetation that can wear down teeth quite rapidly. An elephant's life is a marathon, not a sprint, and their teeth are a testament to this endurance. These creatures can live up to 60-70 years in the wild, and their teeth are pivotal in ensuring they live to a ripe old age. Unlike humans, who primarily undergo two sets of teeth—the deciduous (baby) teeth and permanent teeth—elephants have a conveyor belt-like system that provides them with multiple sets of molars to grind down their fibrous diet. The process begins when elephants are born with a set of premolars, which are soon replaced by their first set of molars. As elephants grow, these teeth wear out and are replaced by larger ones, signifying a new stage in their life. This dental succession is not simultaneous but occurs sequentially from the front to the back of the jaw. When a molar wears out, it is pushed forward and falls out, while the next in line takes its place. Each new set of molars is larger than the previous one, which allows adult elephants to maintain a larger grinding surface area necessary to process the vast amounts of vegetation they consume—up to 300 kilograms (about 660 pounds) per day for an adult. The last set of molars must last them for as long as possible, as once these are worn down, the elephant will no longer be able to chew its food effectively, which can lead to malnutrition and eventually death—a condition often referred to as "elephant's sixth set of teeth," which is, in fact, the absence of teeth.