The researchers were looking at how elephants lose heat through their bodies to stay cool.

Using state-of-the-art FLIR thermal-imaging cameras - cameras that show up heat - the scientists were able to tell which areas of the elephants got hottest, and where they lost the heat at night.

The researchers found that Asian elephants lose most of their body heat from the surface of their trunks overnight.

A female Asian elephant urinates at Busch Gardens Tampa. The temperature of the urine helps the scientists work out how hot the rest of the elephant must be.

In contrast, African elephants cool off after sunset from the surface of their large ears.

If you look at the picture above, the hotter areas are the red bits, and the coolest areas are blue.