ELEPHANTS

Elephantidae

Elephantidae is a family of large, herbivorous mammals. They are the largest land animals alive today, measuring over 10 Ft (3 M) tall and weighing 5 Tons (4.5 Tonnes.) The largest of these is the extinct Asian Straight-Tusked Elephant (Palaeoloxodon namadicus) which stood almost 20 Ft (6 M) tall. All elephants have large ears, four legs, thin tails and a trunk. The trunk is composed of over 40,000 Muscles and is extremely flexible. The Elephant uses its trunk to breathe, carry things, transport water, communicate, fight and rip branches off of trees. The Elephant's legs are slender and have stubby toenails. The feet are padded allowing the Elephant to walk quietly. Elephants have large tusks which are used for fighting, either for defense or mating rights. The Elephant's ears are very large. This allows the elephant to release more body heat, especially when flapped.

Elephants are herbivores, eating mostly leaves from trees. The Elephant grabs the leaves with its trunk, stripping them off of the branch and placing them into its mouth. If the leaves are too high, the elephant simply uproots the tree. Elephants live in separate groups, Matriarchal (female,) and Bachelor (male) herds. Elephants have been known to have extreme intelligence. Elephants have been observed solving problems and using tools, such as stacking things to reach food or throwing logs at electric fences. They are excellent learners as well. Elephants have even been known to enjoy creating abstract paintings. They can also be trained to make more accurate paintings. Elephants have been observed on multiple occasions to mourn their dead. In the event of a death, the other herd members observe the body with their trunks and feet. The Elephants scream and stomp. They finally bury the body in sticks, leaves and dirt. They mourn over the body for the next few days. Elephants help injured individuals, even of different species. There have been multiple accounts of people being dragged to safety and guarded by elephants.

Elephants are poached for their ivory, meat and leather. Ivory is sold for thousands of dollars a pound. A whole tusk is worth over $400,000 ( £ 309,000.) In most cases, you can get arrested for selling ivory. Like Pangolin scales, confiscated elephant tusks are burned.