I thought I'd seen everything Twitch has to offer, but I could not have been more wrong.
While still primarily a source for video game livestreams, Twitch has become the home for all kinds of live entertainment. From drag races to body painters, to psychics and even world record weight lifting, you can see almost anything on Twitch these days.
Including a herd of elephants farting on each other.
For context: the stream is WildEarth and it's Twitch's very own version of a nature documentary. The channel just started earlier this year but they've already given us so many wonderful moments for the Twitch archives, including this absolutely terrifying crocodile attack. Damn, nature, you scary.
It's not all horror and bloodshed at the Djuma Private Game Reserve, though. There are often more light-hearted moments in nature as well: for instance, sometimes a herd of elephants will inexplicably start farting all at the same time. Moist, bubbly farts.
I wouldn't be a serious journalist if I didn't do my due diligence and look in the phenomenon and, as it turns out, the internet is full of elephant farting videos. I've spent most of today researching elephant farts, and I've learned a few things.
First of all, when elephants pass gas, it doesn't always sound like a juicy old man fart, but it usually does. This is likely due to the fact that elephants cover themselves in mud during the day to stay cool and protect themselves from the sun. That moisture along with their loose, wrinkly skin creates the perfect environment for farts that sound like they're definitely going to itch when they dry.
It turns out most mammals fart. According to Vox, horses, rhinos, and elephants digest the fibrous foods they eat through fermentation in the back half of their digestive tract. That fermentation breaks down the food and produces gases like carbon dioxide and methane, just like our farts. Additionally, Zebras fart when they're scared, just like my farts.
WildEarth streams Sunday-Friday from 6 AM to 9 PM South African local time. On Saturdays, they stream a sunset safari starting at 9pm. Thank you for joining me on this elephant fart adventure. This is the dumbest story I've ever written.