Elephants

The elephant is a mammal with many unique traits. This colossal beast is the largest animal to live on land. The elephant also has the largest ears of any other animal. Another fascinating feature about the elephant is its long nose. This long nose actually forms into a long trunk that can be used as a helpful appendage. Just imagine having an extra hand on the middle of your face! Only the elephant has bragging rights to such an extraordinary trunk.

There are basically two main types of elephants living in the world today. The African and Asian elephants live on different continents, just as their names imply. The African elephants are actually larger than the ones that live in Asia. Also, the ears of the Asian elephant are smaller than the African elephant’s ears.

Elephants have intricate families. The matriarch is the head of the elephant family. She uses her excellent memory to lead the family over specific migration routes. She knows the best way to travel for survival and memorizes the important locations of certain food and water sources. Adult males rarely live with the females. Generally, there are about ten elephants living together at a time. These small family groups usually have several adult females and their young. The family is then led by the oldest female, who becomes the matriarch. Males leave the group once they become adults; however, they may visit the family group on occasion. These small families often join with other families and some independent males to create a population of these amazing animals.