Elephant

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Elephants are the world’s largest land animals. Their trunk can weigh 400 pounds and has 40,000 muscles in it. The largest elephant ever recorded was an African elephant that weighed 27,000 pounds and was 13 feet tall. An elephant can eat up to 600 pounds of food a day.

There are 3 elephant species which are African bush elephant (also known as African savanna elephant), African forest elephant, and Asian elephant. There are 4 subspecies of Asian elephant, which are Sri Lanken, Indian, Sumatran, and Borneo pygmy elephant. The largest of them is the African bush elephant, and the smallest is the Borneo pygmy elephant.

Read this article to find out the differences between Asian and African elephants.

An elephant’s brain weighs 11 pounds, which is larger than any other land mammal. Their brain is similar to a human’s brain in structure and complexity. They are highly intelligent and believed equal to primates and dolphins. Elephants can feel emotions including crying and mourning the death of other elephants. They can play, have a sense of humor, self-awareness, use tools, and have excellent memory.

Elephants have thick, tough skin which can be up to 1.5-inches thick in places, but it is very sensitive. They can feel a fly land on their skin. Their skin can also get sunburn, so they put mud and dirt on themselves to act as sunscreen. This also helps protect from insect bites and keep moisture in their skin.