Elephants are large mammals of the family #Elephantidae and the order #Proboscidea.
Three species are currently recognised; the African bush elephant, African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant.
All elephant have several distinctive features, the most notable of which is a long trunk (also called a #proboscis) used for many purposes, particularly breathing, lifting water, and grasping object.
Their #incisors grow into tusk , which can serve as weapon and as tools for moving objects and digging.
Elephants' large ear flaps help to control their body temperature.
Their piller-like eggs can carry their great weight.
African elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.
Elephants are herbivorous and can be found in different habitats including savannahs, forest, deserts, and marshes. They prefer to stay neat water.
They are considered to be #keystone #species due to their impact on their environments.
Other animals tend to keep their distance from elephants while predators such as lions, tigers, hyenas, and any wild dogs, usually target only young elephants (or "calves").
Elephants have a fission-fusion society in which multiple family groups come together to socialize.
Females ("cows") tend to live in family group, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The groups are led by an individual known as the #matriach, often the oldest cow.
Males ("bulls") leave their family groups when reach puberty and many live alone or with other males. Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate and enter a state of increased #testosteron and aggressive known as #musth which helps them gain dominance and reproductive success.
Calves are the center of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years.
Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. They communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound; elephants use infrasound, and seismic communication over long distances.
Elephants intelligence has been compared with that of primates and cetaceans. They appear to have self-awareness and show empathy for dying or dead individuals of their kind.
African elephants are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN0 while the Asian elephant is classed as endangered.
One of the biggest threats to elephant populations is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory tusks. Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflicts with local people. Elephants are used as working animals in Asia.
In the past, they were used in war; today, they are often controversially put on display in zoos, or exploited for entertainment in circuses.
Elephants are highly recognizable and have been featured in art, folklore, religion, literature and popular culture.
#Source #Wikipedia
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