Elephants

Elephants are the largest land animals. They can weigh over 6,000 kg, that’s more than the weight of four cars! The one feature that makes an elephant unmistakable is its long trunk. A trunk is an elephant’s hand it is used for sucking up water, digging, grabbing, lifting, and breathing. The trunk even has a fingerlike tip that can take out dirt from an elephant’s eye or pick up a single blade of grass. There are three types of elephants. Two live in Africa and one in Asia. All three are in danger of not being around for a long time. There are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is us, humans. Elephants use to be largely hunted for their tusks and teeth. They are made from a very expensive, much wanted material, ivory. Also the reduction of the rainforests and later their homes is also a main factor in their downfall.

What makes an elephant so special? When elephants meet they often shake trunks, just as we would shake hands. This enables them to be friendly or to check the strength of the other elephant. Elephants are also very family orientated like many of us. Elephants live in social groups called herds with about 10-20 elephants, most of which are female and are related. A typical herd can consist of mothers, daughters, grandmothers and a few young males. The eldest female is usually the leader. After child birth a mother is very protective of her young and unlike many mammals are devoted parents.

When a baby elephant is born it is already 1meter tall and weighs about 80kg. It can usually walk within a few hours of being born. Most will only have one baby at a time, but only taking care of one baby is still a lot of work for mother elephants. The calf will drink about 11liters (3gallons) of milk every day!

Vocabulary