Elephant Basics

Elephants are the largest land animals in the world. Their unique trunk acts as part nose to assist in breathing and detecting odors, and part hand to assist with manipulating objects, social interactions, eating, dust bathing, drawing-up water and releasing water into the mouth. Their trunk is composed of about 40,000 muscles, making it strong, flexible and dexterous.

Elephants have the longest gestation of any land animal averaging 21.5 months. They also have the largest brain of any land animal.

Elephants are long lived. Studies have shown that life expectancy at birth in African elephants is 41 years for females and 24 years for males. Maximum life span for females is over 65 years, and for males it is close to 60 years. Elephants' developmental rate is similar to humans.

There are two recognized species of elephants, the Asian elephant and the African elephant.

Elephants are a keystone species that influence the composition of their environment while often benefiting other species. The African elephants' ability to locate underground water and dig pools helps provide many other species with water during droughts. African elephants may destroy trees and shrubs allowing for grasses to grow that other species eat. In the process, African elephants, and perhaps particularly the forest elephant, create an environment conducive to regeneration of healthy forest ecosystems. Management of elephants in the wild means maintaining a balance between elephants and the ecosystem.

Though much less numerous in the wild, Asian elephants also impact their environment and increasingly come into conflict with humans and agriculture. Saving habitat for elephants' means saving habitats for many other species as well.

Source: http://www.elephanttag.org/