The Elephant

Elephants are the biggest land animals in the world. The African elephant is found on the
continent of Africa and the Indian elephant is found in Asia. Elephants are mammals as well as
herbivores, meaning they only eat plants rather than meat.
Types of Elephants
There are two main types of elephants; the African elephant and the Indian elephant.
African elephant - The African elephant is bigger than the Indian elephant. It has larger
ears too. Both the males and females have tusks. The African elephant has wrinkly gray
skin, a swayed back, and two tips at the end of its trunk that it can use like fingers to pick
stuff up.
Indian elephant - The Indian, or Asian, elephant is smaller than the African elephant and
has smaller ears. They have more of a humped back and only one fingerlike tip at the end
of their trunk. Also, their skin tends to be less wrinkly than the African elephant.

Just how big are they?

Elephants are truly gigantic animals. They can grow to 11 feet tall and can weigh up to 13,000
pounds. The largest elephant ever was 13 feet tall and weighed 24,000 pounds! Elephant's
appetites are as big as their size. They can eat up to 400 pounds and drink up to 30 gallons of
water each day.
What do they look like?
Elephants have many interesting features including giant ears, long tusks, and a huge trunk.
Elephants flap their giant ears to cool off. Their tusks can be up to 10 feet long. Elephants use
their tusks to dig or scrape the bark off of trees. Sometimes they use them to fight. Their tusks
continue to grow for their entire life.

The Trunk
An Elephant's trunk is their most versatile appendage. Elephants use their long trunks to pick up
food as small as a blade of grass, but also to pull down tree branches to get to food. Elephants
also use their trunk to drink, smell, and suck up water to spray themselves for a bath.
Are they smart?
Elephants are considered very intelligent. They have very sophisticated social structures and
methods of communication. They also are very skilled with tools and can be trained for all sorts of
tasks. Maybe there is some truth to the saying that "an elephant never forgets".
Baby Elephants
A baby elephant is called a calf. Like all mammals the babies feed off their mothers milk. They are
hairy and usually are between two and three feet tall.
Are they endangered?
Because of their size and prized ivory tusks, elephants have long been a favorite of big game
hunters. Too much hunting has caused the elephant population to diminish rapidly. Elephants are
now a protected species throughout the world.
Fun Facts About Elephants
An elephant's skin can be up to one inch thick, but it is also very sensitive.
The biggest elephant ever weighed 24,000 pounds and was 13 feet tall.

They can hear each other's calls up to 5 miles away.

Male elephants, or bulls, live alone once they become adults. However, the females, or
cows, live in tight family groups led by the oldest female, called a matriarch.

They have poor eyesight, but excellent hearing and sense of smell.

Contrary to popular belief, elephants don't really like peanuts.

They will throw sand and dirt on their backs to keep from getting sunburned.

An elephant is smart enough to recognize itself in a mirror.

Who am I?
1. I am as big as a wall. Elephants are the biggest land animals in the world.
2. I am as tall as tall as a giraffe. The largest elephant ever was 13 feet tall and weighed 24,000
pounds!
3. My legs are like trees. My legs are very strong.
4. My tusk is long and sharp like a spear. My tusks can be up to 10 feet long.
5. My trunk is as strong as an ox. An elephants trunk is strong enough to lift a baby elephant
from a mud hole.
6. I can make sounds as loud as the blast that tears the skies. Elephant can make loud noises
to help elephant communicate with each other.
I am an Elephant.
My skin is as thick as a . An elephant's skin can be up to one inch thick, but it is also very sensitive.
I am as intelligent as . Elephants are considered very intelligent and are very skilled with tools and
can be trained for all sorts of tasks.
It is gentle enough to pick a single leaf from a tree.

"The Blind Men and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe

There were six men of Hindustan,
to learning much inclined,
Who went to see an elephant,
though all of them were blind,
That each by observation
might satisfy his mind.
The first approached the elephant,
and happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
at once began to bawl,

"This mystery of an elephant

is very like a wall."
The second, feeling of the tusk,
cried, "Ho, what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear,
This wonder of an elephant
is very like a spear."
The third approached the elephant,
and happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
thus boldly up and spake,
"I see," quoth he,
"the elephant is very like a snake."
The fourth reached out an eager hand,
and felt above the knee,
"What this most wondrous beast
is like is very plain," said he.
"'Tis clear enough the elephant
is very like a tree."
The fifth who chanced to touch the ear
said, "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
deny the fact who can;
This marvel of an elephant
is very like a fan."
The sixth no sooner had begun
about the beast to grope,
Than seizing on the swinging tail
that fell within his scope;
"I see," said he, "the elephant
is very like a rope."
So six blind men of Hindustan
disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

exceeding stiff and strong;
Though each was partly in the right,
they all were in the wrong!
MORAL:
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!