Marie Cipolla, age 12, of Kansas city, mo., for her question:

Why does an elephant swing his trunk as he walks?

Jumbo has rather poor eyesight and he does not hear too well. But the big fellow's amazing trunk makes up for everything. It is an overgrown nose and upper lip and just about the best sniffer in the world. It also is very sensitive to touch and even to changes in the shifting breezes. As he walks along, the elephant swings his fabulous trunk from side to side,using its sensitive gifts to the fullest.

He gently feels the ground for sudden hollows and pitfalls, for fallen trunks and other obstacles in his path. He feels and sniffs for plant food and for traces of other animals. From time to time the huge trunk weaves higher above the ground while he tests the wind and sniffs to discover whether friends or foes may be in his neighborhood