Some do live in deserts and swamps and in areas of tropical highlands.The elephant can weigh even up to 9 tons and can stand 13 foot tall, so it is a very large animal and it needs a lot of water in order to survive. Both female and male African elephants have tusks which they use to help find and dig for food.Only the male Asian elephant has tusks. During this time, they know the different routes to take that allow them to have water that they can store .Elephant tusks are used for many things such as lifting things, getting food, fighting, defending themselves and their area and to be able to take the bark off of trees to eat.Sometimes, when there is a drought, the elephant will use its tusks to dig in the dirt until they are able to find water.The tusks do have to do with animal genetics and most tusks are passed down from generation. Elephants have a bad eyesight. They usually only are seen eating grasses or other types of vegetation.The idea that elephants ate peanuts happened in the 19th century when people would come to the circus and be able to buy peanuts to feed the elephants. Some scientists believe that an elephant’s trunk is made up of 100,000 muscles, but no bones.Female elephants spend their entire lives living in large groups called herds. They need to be able to live in an area that has grasses and plants that they can eat. They are the largest land mammal and many of them live together in social herds and families.Although many elephants are threatened by humans, they can also be saved by humans. There are some subspecies that each belong to one of the main species but it isn’t known how many subspecies exist.African elephants are the bigger of the elephant species and can grow to be 2.5 to 4 meters (8.2-13 ft.) measured from the shoulders to the toes and weigh in from 2,268-6,350 kg (5,000-14,000 lbs.). Elephant Anatomy Fun Facts The largest elephant in the world weighed 24,000 pounds! This means that they don’t have any spring that can allow them to push their body off the ground. Quick Elephant Facts: Elephants are mammals. Many of the reasons for the decline of elephants is that people hunt elephants for their ivory tusks. Thanks to an international ban on the sale of ivory and the harsh consequences of the laws, there are fewer elephants being killed, although poaching does still exist.You know already that a group of elephants are called a ‘herd’ and the females group together to share the duties of caring for the young. Their ears are made up of a complex network of blood vessels which help regulate their temperature.

An elephant lives on average to the age of 70 – the same as humans; Elephants are very emotional – they cry when they are upset and squeak and trumpet when they are happy; Elephants are the only animals other than humans to grieve for the dead. This causes their muscle tone to change and they cannot really stand during this time unless they have something to hold them up. Even when an elephant runs, at least one of its legs are always on the ground.Much of this might have to do with the fact that the animals are so large. A new baby calf can weigh 91 kg (200 lbs.) Elephants are gentle animals whose intelligence is similar to apes and chimpanzees. It is against the law for people to poach animals and take their ivory. Sadly, the biggest threat to elephants is humans.Humans hurt elephants through poaching them for their ivory tusks as well as by changing or destroying their habitat.Currently, the African elephant is labeled as Vulnerable while the Asian elephant is labeled as Endangered.Female elephants spend their entire lives living together with other females and calves. Even though an elephant can drink that much water, they really only need between 15 to 30 gallons of water each day in order to survive.Most people think that elephants eat peanuts and it is a notion that elephants eat salted peanuts in the circus but the truth is that elephants don’t actually eat peanuts. Elephants are known for their large ears, tusks made of ivory and their trunks – which are actually a fusion of their nose and upper lip.