There are three different species of elephant – the African Savannah Elephant, the African Forest Elephant, and the Asian elephant.
Elephants are the world’s largest land animal! Male African elephants can reach 3m tall and weigh between 4,000 -7,500kg.
When an elephant drinks, it sucks as much as 2 gallons (7.5 litres) of water into its trunk at a time.
Elephants use their trunks to help them keep cool by squirting cool water over their bodies, often follow that with a sprinkling of dust to create a protective layer of dirt on their skin.
Elephants also use their trunks as snorkels when they wade in deep water.
When an elephant gets a whiff of something interesting, it sniffs the air with its trunk raised up like a submarine periscope.
When threatened, elephants will also use their trunks to make loud trumpeting noises as a warning.
Elephants are social creatures. They sometimes hug by wrapping their trunks together in displays of greeting and affection.
Elephants also use their trunks to rescue a fellow elephant stuck in mud or to gently raise a newborn elephant to its feet.
Elephant calves often suck their trunk for comfort like babies suck their thumb.
One single elephant can eat 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of food in one day.
Elephant tusks never stop growing, so enormous tusks can be a sign of an old elephant.
Elephants spend between 12 to 18 hours eating grass, plants and fruit every single day.
One elephant creates about one tonne of poo per week, which keeps the soil fertile and disperses tree seeds.
Elephants also dig waterholes and create footpaths, literally changing the landscape around them.
Elephants use mud as both a sunscreen and a moisturizer.
Elephants are capable of complex thought and deep feelings like joy, love, grief, stress & compassion.