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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it [sciencemag.org]:

The African savanna elephant holds the prize for largest living terrestrial animal, and now it apparently just set another land record: the longest distance mover of seeds. The pachyderms can transport seeds up to 65 kilometers, according to a study of elephant dung in South Africa. That's 30 times farther than savanna birds take seeds, and it indicates that elephants play a significant role in maintaining the genetic diversity of trees on the savanna.

This research: Seed dispersal kernel of the largest surviving megaherbivore—the African savanna elephant [wiley.com] (DOI: 10.1111/btp.12423) (DX [doi.org])

Older research: Seed Dispersal by Elephants in Semiarid Woodland Habitats of Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe [wiley.com] (DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2000.tb00503.x) (DX [doi.org])

Seed protection through dispersal by African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana africana) in northern Tanzania. [wiley.com] (DOI: 10.1111/aje.12239) (DX [doi.org])

Overseas seed dispersal by migratory birds [royalsocietypublishing.org] (open, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2406) (DX [doi.org])

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