eli5: how do elephants syringe and spray water with their trunks?

Question

As the title says, why do they not accidentally drown themselves or something?

Edit: bonus questions – can and do they sneeze? Can they have a deviated septum?

In: 3

Answer 1

Because elephants’ trunks aren’t built like human noses. They’ve got a muscular structure that lets them pinch their nasal passages closed before they enter the skull so water doesn’t get back there, or into their lungs.