The wrinkles on the trunks of elephants are not a result of aging. They develop in utero. And scientists have now discovered it is possible to determine an elephant’s “trunkedness” — kind of like being right- or left-handed — by analyzing them. Host Carolyn Beeler finds out more about elephant trunk wrinkles from Lena Kauffmann, one of the authors of a study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

This story originally aired on Oct. 9, 2024.