Elephant, (family Elephantidae), largest living land animal, characterized by its long trunk (elongated upper lip and nose), columnar legs, and huge head with temporal glands and wide, flat ears. Elephants are grayish to brown in colour, and their body hair is sparse and coarse. They are found most often in savannas, grasslands, and forests but occupy a wide range of habitats, including deserts, swamps, and highlands in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia.
The African savanna, or bush, elephant (Loxodonta africana) weighs up to 8,000 kg (9 tons) and stands 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 feet) at the shoulder. The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), which lives in rainforests, was recognized as a separate species in 2000 and is smaller than the savanna elephant. It has slender, downward-pointing tusks. The common belief that there existed “pygmy” and “water” elephants has no basis; they are probably varieties of the African forest elephants.
up to 3.5 metres.
The Asian elephant includes three subspecies: the Indian, or mainland (E. maximus indicus), the Sumatran (E. maximus sumatranus), and the Sri Lankan (E. maximus maximus). African elephants have much larger ears, which are used to dissipate body heat.
Elephants use the trunk like a hand in other ways as well. Tool use in elephants involves holding branches and scratching themselves in places that the trunk and tail cannot reach. Large branches are sometimes wielded, and objects may be thrown in threat displays. When elephants meet, one may touch the face of the other, or they will intertwine trunks. This “trunk-shake” can be compared to a human handshake in that it may be associated with similar functions such as assurance and greeting or as a way of assessing strength.
Breathing, drinking, and eating are all vital functions of the trunk. Most breathing is performed through the trunk rather than the mouth. Elephants drink by sucking as much as 10 litres (2.6 gallons) of water into the trunk and then squirting it into the mouth. They eat by detaching grasses, leaves, and fruit with the end of the trunk and using it to place this vegetation into the mouth. The trunk is also used to collect dust or grass for spraying onto themselves, presumably for protection against insect bites and the sun. If danger is suspected, elephants raise and swivel the trunk as if it were “an olfactory periscope,” possibly sniffing the air for information.
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Editor: Tariq shahzad (zoologist)
Its a informative article.I didn’t know these facts about elephants before.