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<div class="hatnote">This article is about the living species. For extinct relatives also known as elephants, see <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Elephantidae" title="Elephantidae">Elephantidae</a>. For other uses, see <a rel="nofollow" class="mw-disambig" href="/wiki/Elephant_(disambiguation)" title="Elephant (disambiguation)">Elephant (disambiguation)</a>.</div><br/><div class="metadata topicon nopopups" style="display:none;right:55px" id="protected-icon"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#semi" title="This article is semi-protected."><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Padlock-silver.svg/20px-Padlock-silver.svg.png" data-file-height="128" data-file-width="128" height="20" width="20" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Padlock-silver.svg/30px-Padlock-silver.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Padlock-silver.svg/40px-Padlock-silver.svg.png 2x" alt="Page semi-protected"></a></div><br/><div><br/><table class="infobox biota" style="text-align: left; width: 200px; font-size: 100%"><br/><tbody><tr><br/><th style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(211,211,164)" colspan="2">Elephants<br><br/><small>Temporal range: <span style="display:inline-block;">Pliocene–Recent</span></small><br/><div style="margin: 4px auto 0; clear:both; width:220px; padding:0px; height:18px; overflow:visible; border:1px #666; border-style:solid none; position:relative; z-index:0;" id="Timeline-row"><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; left:0px; width:208.07692307692px; padding-left:5px; text-align:left; background-color:rgb(254,214,123); background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(left, rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(254,217,106,1) 15%, rgba(254,217,106,1)); background-image: -o-linear-gradient(left, rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(254,217,106,1) 15%, rgba(254,217,106,1)); background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(left, rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(254,217,106,1) 15%, rgba(254,217,106,1)); background-image: linear-gradient(to right, rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(254,217,106,1) 15%, rgba(254,217,106,1));"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Precambrian" title="Precambrian">PreЄ</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(129,170,114); left:36.892307692308px; width:18.818461538462px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Cambrian" title="Cambrian">Є</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(0,169,138); left:55.710769230769px; width:14.215384615385px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Ordovician" title="Ordovician">O</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(166,223,197); left:69.926153846154px; width:8.1907692307692px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Silurian" title="Silurian">S</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(221,150,81); left:78.116923076923px; width:20.409230769231px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Devonian" title="Devonian">D</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(63,174,173); left:98.526153846154px; width:20.307692307692px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Carboniferous" title="Carboniferous">C</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(247,88,60); left:118.83384615385px; width:15.816307692308px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Permian" title="Permian">P</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(153,78,150); left:134.65015384615px; width:17.217538461538px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Triassic" title="Triassic">T</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(0,187,231); left:151.86769230769px; width:19.055384615385px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Jurassic" title="Jurassic">J</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(111,200,107); left:170.92307692308px; width:26.738461538462px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Cretaceous" title="Cretaceous">K</a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(254,161,99); left:197.66153846154px; width:14.543692307692px;"><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Paleogene" title="Paleogene"><small>Pg</small></a></small></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; text-align:center; background-color:rgb(254,221,45); left:212.20523076923px; width:6.9215384615385px;"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Neogene" title="Neogene"><small>N</small></a></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:100%; background-color:#666; width:1px; left:219px" id="end-border"></div><br/><div style="margin:0 auto; line-height:0; clear:both; width:220px; padding:0px; height:8px; overflow:visible; background-color:transparent; position:relative; top:-4px; z-index:100;"><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:8px; left:218.19498461538px; width:1.8050153846154px; background-color:#360; opacity:0.42;"></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:8px; left:218.19498461538px; width:1.8050153846154px; background-color:#360; opacity:1;"></div><br/><div style="position:absolute; height:6px; top:1px; left:219.19498461538px; width:-0.19498461538462px; background-color:#6c3;"></div><br/></div><br/></div><br/></th><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td style="text-align: center" colspan="2"><a rel="nofollow" class="image" href="/wiki/File:African_Bush_Elephant.jpg"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/African_Bush_Elephant.jpg/220px-African_Bush_Elephant.jpg" data-file-height="3888" data-file-width="2592" height="330" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/African_Bush_Elephant.jpg/330px-African_Bush_Elephant.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/African_Bush_Elephant.jpg/440px-African_Bush_Elephant.jpg 2x" alt="African Bush Elephant.jpg"></a></td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td style="text-align: center; font-size: 88%" colspan="2">African elephant</td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><th style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(211,211,164)" colspan="2"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Biological_classification" title="Biological classification">Scientific classification</a></th><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td>Kingdom:</td><br/><td><span class="kingdom" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Animal" title="Animal">Animalia</a></span></td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td>Phylum:</td><br/><td><span class="phylum" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Chordate" title="Chordate">Chordata</a></span></td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td>Subphylum:</td><br/><td><span class="subphylum" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Vertebrate" title="Vertebrate">Vertebrata</a></span></td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td>Class:</td><br/><td><span class="class" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" class="mw-redirect" href="/wiki/Mammalia" title="Mammalia">Mammal</a></span></td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td>Superorder:</td><br/><td><span class="superorder" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Afrotheria" title="Afrotheria">Afrotheria</a></span></td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td>Order:</td><br/><td><span class="order" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Proboscidea" title="Proboscidea">Proboscidea</a></span></td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td>Family:</td><br/><td><span class="family" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Elephantidae" title="Elephantidae">Elephantidae</a></span><br><br/><small><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/John_Edward_Gray" title="John Edward Gray">Gray</a>, 1821</small></td><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><th style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(211,211,164)" colspan="2">Genera</th><br/></tr><br/><tr><br/><td style="text-align: left" colspan="2"><br/><div class="plainlist"><br/><ul><br/><li><i><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/African_elephant" title="African elephant">Loxodonta</a></i></li><br/><li><i><a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Elephas" title="Elephas">Elephas</a></i></li><br/></ul><br/></div><br/></td><br/></tr><br/></tbody></table><br/></div><br/><p><b>Elephants</b> are large mammals of the family <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Elephantidae" title="Elephantidae">Elephantidae</a> and the order <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Proboscidea" title="Proboscidea">Proboscidea</a>. Two species are traditionally recognised, the <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/African_elephant" title="African elephant">African elephant</a> (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) and the <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Asian_elephant" title="Asian elephant">Asian elephant</a> (<i>Elephas maximus</i>), although some evidence suggests that <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/African_bush_elephant" title="African bush elephant">African bush elephants</a> and <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/African_forest_elephant" title="African forest elephant">African forest elephants</a> are separate species (<i>L. africana</i> and <i>L. cyclotis</i> respectively). Elephants are scattered throughout <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africa" title="Sub-Saharan Africa">sub-Saharan Africa</a>, <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/South_Asia" title="South Asia">South Asia</a>, and <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Southeast_Asia" title="Southeast Asia">Southeast Asia</a>. Elephantidae are the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea; other, now extinct, families of the order include <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Mammoth" title="Mammoth">mammoths</a> and <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Mastodon" title="Mastodon">mastodons</a>. Male African elephants are the largest surviving <a rel="nofollow" href="/wiki/Terrestrial_animal" title="Terrestrial animal">terrestrial animals</a> and can reach a height of 4 m (13 ft) and weigh 7,000 kg (15,000 lb).</p>
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24 Nov 14
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s are traditionally recognised, the African elephan
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30 Sep 14
orangetiger1234Wikipedia is a good, free online encyclopedia with useful information. This page is a great place to find all-encompassing information on elephants.
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20 Mar 14
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lephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Elephantidae are the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea; other, now extinct, families of the order include mammoths and mastodons. Male
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Elephant
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05 Feb 14
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21 Jan 14
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he elephant's large ear flaps help to control the temperature of its body
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31 Oct 13
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29 Aug 13
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They are considered to be keystone species due to their impact on their environments.
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28 Feb 13
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African elephants have larger ears and concave backs while Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.
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Females (or "cows") tend to live in family groups,
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The animal's sense of smell may be four times as sensitive as that of a bloodhound
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Elephants can suck up water both to drink and to spray on their bodies
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31 Jan 13
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12 Dec 12
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They are the only surviving proboscideans, although several extinct species have been identified, including the elephants' close relatives, the mammoths
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sping objects. The ear flaps are particularly large and help to control the temperature of their massive bodies. Their incisors gro
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The latter are led by the oldest cow, known as the matriarch.
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30 Oct 12
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Elephants are large mammals of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. They are represented by three species: the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (L. cyclotis) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
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Male African bush elephants can reach a height of 3.20–4 m (10.5–13.1 ft) and a weight of 4,700–6,048 kg (10,362–13,334 lb).
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a long proboscis or trunk they use for breathing, olfaction, touching, grasping and sound production, as well as sucking up water. The ear flaps are particularly large and help in thermoregulation of their massive bodies. Their second upper incisors grow into large tusks, which serve as tools for digging and moving, as well as weapons for fighting.
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Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Proboscidea Family: Elephantidae
Gray, 1821 -
Elephants can be found in numerous habitats, including savannas, forests, deserts and marshes, and prefer to stay near water. As herbivores, they consume leaves, twigs, fruit, bark and roots.
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Elephants are considered to be keystone species due to the impact they have on their environments.
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Elephants appear to have a fission-fusion society in which multiple family groups come together for socializing. Males or bulls leave their family groups when they reach puberty, and may live alone or with other males. Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate.
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Elephants communicate by touch, sight, and sound. They are known to use infrasound for long-distance communication.
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Elephants are highly intelligent, being comparable to primates and cetaceans. They appear to have self-awareness, can modify tools, and show empathy for dying or dead individuals of their kind. African elephants are together listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), while the Asian elephant is considered to be Endangered. One of the biggest threats to elephant populations is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory tusks. This led to an international ban on ivory in 1990. Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflicts with local people. Elephants are used as working animals in both Asia and Africa. They are known to haul loads into remote areas, move logs out of forests, carry tourists, pull goods on wagons, and lead religious ceremonies. They have also been used as instruments of war, and have been put on display in zoos and circuses. Highly recognizable, elephants have played important roles in human cultures, both in the religious beliefs of the Far East and in Western popular cu
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23 Oct 12
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Elephants
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08 Aug 12
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Three living species of elephant are recognized: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Indian or Asian elephant
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gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal.
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largest living land animals on Earth today.
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They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years
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The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch.
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Olifant and its variations (ex. oliphant, olyphant) are archaic spellings of elephant.
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The African elephant genus contains two living species; whereas the Asian elephant species is the only surviving member of the Asian elephant genus, but can be divided into four subspecies.
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The African and the Asian elephants diverged from a common ancestor some 7.6 million years ago.
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Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa.
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African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their much larger ears
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typically larger
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In Asian elephants, only males have tusks, but both males and females of African elephants have tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins.
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concave back
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recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species.[29] This split is not universally accepted by experts.[3] A third species of African elephant has also been proposed.
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We unequivocally establish that the Asian elephant is the sister species to the woolly mammoth. A surprising finding from our study is that the divergence of African savanna and forest elephants—which some have argued to be two populations of the same species—is about as ancient as the divergence of Asian elephants and mammoths. Given their ancient divergence, we conclude that African savanna and forest elephants should be classified as two distinct species
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. If there are two separate species, each will be less abundant (particularly the rarer) and could be more endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species. There is also a potential danger that if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their products.
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The forest elephant and the savanna elephant can hybridize (interbreed),
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Under the new two species classification, Loxodonta africana refers specifically to the savanna elephant, the largest of all elephants.
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Most often, savanna elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores.
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The other putative species, the forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), is usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter compared with the savanna elephant.
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Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins, because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study.
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s African Elephant Status Report 2007,[36] there are between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered
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South African elephant population more than doubled, rising from 8,000 to over 20,000, in the thirteen years after a 1995 ban on the trade in elephant ivory.[41] The ban on the ivory trade in southern Africa (but not elsewhere) was lifted in February 2008, sparking controversy among environmental groups.[citation needed]
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The Asian elephant, Elephas maximus, is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks.
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The world population of Asian elephants—also called Indian elephants—is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia, with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world.[
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Elephas maximus maximus (Sri Lankan elephant) is found only on the island of Sri Lanka. It is the largest of the Asians. There are an estimated 3,000–4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild,
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Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin.
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Elephas maximus indicus (Indian elephant) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk.
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The Sumatran elephant, Elephas maximus sumatranus, found only on Sumatra, is smaller than the Indian elephant. Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals.
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In 2003, a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than any other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks.
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The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip,[43] elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. The elephant's trunk is sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree.
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However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouths. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches.
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The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk—up to 14 litres (15 quarts) at a time—and then blow it into their mouths.
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When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel.
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This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake.
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An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. By raising the trunk up in the air and swiveling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources. The complete trunk can have up to 150,000 separate muscle fascicles, giving it strength and flexibility.[46]
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The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory, and occasionally as weapons. [47]
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Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear.
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The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite.
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living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability.
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12 Jun 12
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Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct.[1] Three living species of elephant are recognized: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Indian or Asian elephant;[2] although some group the two African species into one[3] and some researchers also postulate the existence of a fourth species in West Africa.[4]
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10 Apr 12
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white s
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Three species of elephant are recognized: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Indian or Asian elephant;[2] although some group the two African species into one
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The elephant's gestation period is 22 months
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Elephants are the largest living land animals on Earth today
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the longest of any land anima
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irth, an elephant calf typically weighs 105 kilograms (230 lb).[7] They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years.[8] The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1955.[9] This male weighed about 10,900 kg (24,000 lb),[10] with a shoulder height of 3.96 metres (13.0 ft), 1 metre (3.3 ft) taller than the average male African elephant.[10] The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch.[11]
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07 Mar 12
michelle friedelephants
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Elephants are the largest living land animals on Earth today.
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21 Feb 12
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At birth, an elephant calf typically weighs 105 kilograms (230 lb)
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Elephants are the largest living land animals on Earth today
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They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years
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31 Jan 12
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21 Nov 11
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15 Nov 11
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Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct.[1] Three species of elephant are recognized: the African bush
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17 May 11
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large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch.[6]
Elephants are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where their intelligence level is thought to be equal to that of dolphins[7][8][9][10] and primates.[11][12] Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind."[13] The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek ἐλέφας, meaning "ivory" or "elephant".[14]
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26 Apr 11
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Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct.[1] Three living species of elephant are recognized: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Indian or Asian elephant;[2] although some group the two African species into one[3] and some researchers also postulate the existence of a fourth species in West Africa.[4] All other species and genera of Elephantidae are extinct. Most have been extinct since the last ice age, although dwarf forms of mammoths might have survived as late as 2,000 BCE.[5] Elephants and other Elephantidae were once classified with other thick-skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata.
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The elephant's gestation period is 22 months
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The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch.[6]
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14 Feb 11
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The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa.
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The forest elephant and the savanna elephant can hybridize (interbreed), though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities
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The Asian elephant, Elephas maximus, is smaller than the African
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10 Feb 11
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14 Dec 10
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14 Sep 10
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Elephants are the largest land animals now living.
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