How do elephants use their ears to release body heat?

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elephant African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana).

Elephants use their large ears as a vital tool for thermoregulation to maintain an optimal body temperature in warm climates.1

Because elephants have a large body mass, they must efficiently transfer excess heat from their tissues and fluids into the environment. Their ears are filled with a network of blood vessels located near the surface of the skin. When an elephant flaps its ears, it creates forced convection, which allows the heat carried by the blood to dissipate into the surrounding air, effectively cooling the animal down.1