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An elephant is an octopus, but with only four legs.
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{{Otheruses|Elephant (disambiguation)}}
[[Image:Comparative view of the human and elephant frame, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, 1860.jpg|thumb|Comparative view of the human and elephant frames, c1860.]]
'''Elephants''' are large land [[mammal]]s in two [[Genus|genera]] of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Elephantidae]]: ''[[Elephas]]'' and ''[[Loxodonta]]''. Three [[species]] of elephant are [[Extant taxon|living today]]: the [[African Bush Elephant]], the [[African Forest Elephant]] and the [[Asian Elephant]] (also known as the Indian Elephant). All other species and genera of Elephantidae are [[extinct species|extinct]], some since the last [[ice age]]: dwarf forms of [[mammoths]] may have survived as late as 2,000 BC.<ref>S. L. Vartanyan*, V. E. Garutt† & A. V. Sher‡parallel, "Holocene dwarf mammoths from Wrangel Island in the Siberian Arctic", Nature 362, 337 - 340 (25 March 1993) [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v362/n6418/abs/362337a0.html Nature.com]</ref> Elephants and other Elephantidae were once classified with other thick-skinned animals in a now invalid [[Order (biology)|order]], [[Pachydermata]].

Elephants are the [[largest organism|largest]] land animals now living.<ref name="NationalGeographicAfricanElephant">{{cite web|url=http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-elephant.html|title=African Elephant|publisher=National Geographic | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> The elephant's [[gestation]] period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh {{convert|120|kg|lb}}. They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years.<ref>[http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/wildlife/elephants/elephant_about.html Elephants] - Animal Corner</ref> The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in [[Angola]] in 1956. This male weighed about {{convert|12000|kg|lb}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/elephants/about/faq.php|title=Frequently asked African Elephant questions|publisher=South African National Parks | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> with a shoulder height of {{convert|4.2|m|ft}}, a metre (yard) taller than the average male African elephant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-elephant.html|title=Animal Bytes: Elephant|publisher=San Diego Zoo | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of [[Crete]] during the [[Pleistocene]] epoch.<ref>[[Dorothea Bate|Bate, D.M.A.]] 1907. On Elephant Remains from Crete, with Description of ''Elephas creticus'' sp.n. Proc. zool. Soc. London: 238-250.</ref>

The elephant has appeared in cultures across the world. They are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where they are thought to be on par with [[cetacean]]s<ref name = "fusukt">{{cite web|url=http://tursiops.org/dolfin/guide/smart.html|title=What Makes Dolphins So Smart?|publisher=Discovery Communications|accessdate = 2007-07-31}}</ref> and [[hominid]]s.<ref name = "hfezyk">{{cite web|url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/ar/2001/00000062/00000005/art01815|title=Cognitive behaviour in Asian elephants: use and modification of branches for fly switching |publisher=BBC|accessdate = 2007-07-31}}</ref> [[Aristotle]] once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind".<ref name=O'Connell>{{cite book
| last = O'Connell
| first = Caitlin
| title = The Elephant's Secret Sense: The Hidden Lives of the Wild Herds of Africa
| publisher = Simon & Schuster
| year = 2007
| location = [[New York City]]
| pages = 174, 184
| isbn =0743284410 }}</ref> The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek {{polytonic|[[wikt:ἐλέφας|ἐλέφας]]}}, meaning "ivory" or "elephant".<ref name="COED">{{cite book |last=Soanes |first=Catherine |coauthors=Angus Stevenson |title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-929634-0 |year=2006}}</ref>

According to observations so far, healthy adult elephants have no natural predators.<ref name="Joubert et al.">Joubert D. 2006. Hunting behaviour of lions (''Panthera leo'') on elephants (''Loxodonta africana'') in the Chobe national Park, Botswana. African Journal of Ecology 44:279-281.</ref> Although [[lion]]s may take calves or weak individuals.<ref>A. J. Loveridge, J. E. Hunt, F. Murindagomo &amp; D. W. Macdonald. (2006) Influence of drought on predation of elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') calves by lions (''Panthera leo'') in an African wooded savannah. Journal of Zoology 270:3, 523–530</ref><ref name="PlanetEarthEpisode7">{{cite episode | title = Great Plains | series = Planet Earth | airdate = November 2006 | number = 7 | serieslink = Planet Earth (TV series) | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/planetearth/prog_summary.shtml}}</ref> They are, however, threatened by human intrusion and poaching.
==Taxonomy and evolution==
[[Image:Asian-African-Elephant.png|thumb|Physical difference between an [[Asian Elephant|Asian]] (left) and [[African elephant|African]] (right) elephant.]]

The [[African Elephant]] [[genus]] contains two (or, arguably, three) living [[species]]; whereas the [[Asian Elephant]] species is the only surviving member of the [[Asian Elephant]] [[genus]], but can be divided into four [[subspecies]]. The African and the Asian elephant diverged from a common ancestor some 7.6 million years ago.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6913934.stm Scientists map elephant evolution]. BBC News. July 24, 2007.</ref>

===African Elephant===
{{Main|African Elephant|African Bush Elephant|African Forest Elephant}}

[[File:Crossing elephant.jpg|thumb|right|Elephant crossing a river, [[Kenya]].]]
[[Image:African Bush Elephant Mikumi.jpg|thumb|right|African bush (savanna) elephant in [[Mikumi National Park]], [[Tanzania]].]]
The Elephants of the genus ''[[Loxodonta]]'', known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa.

African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their much larger ears. In addition, the African elephant is typically larger than the Asian elephant and has a concave back. In Asian elephants only males have tusks, but both males and females of African elephants have tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins.

African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (''Loxodonta africana africana'') and the forest elephant (''Loxodonta africana cyclotis''), but recent [[DNA analysis]] suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species.<ref>{{cite journal
| last =Roca
| first =Alfred L.
| title =Genetic evidence for two species of elephant in Africa
| journal =Science
| volume =293
| issue =5534
| pages =1473
| publisher =
| date =24 August 2001
| doi =10.1126/science.1059936
| pmid =11520983
| last2 =Georgiadis
| first2 =N
| last3 =Pecon-Slattery
| first3 =J
| last4 =O'Brien
| first4 =SJ}}
</ref> This split is not universally accepted by experts<ref>{{cite web
| last =African Elephant Specialist Group
| title =Statement on the taxonomy of extant Loxodonta
| publisher =IUCN
| month =December | year =2003
| url =http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/afesg/tools/pdfs/pos_genet_en.pdf
| format =pdf
| accessdate = 2006-12-08 }}</ref> and a third species of African elephant has also been proposed.<ref>{{cite journal
| last =Eggert
| first =Lori S.
| title =The evolution and phylogeography of the African elephant inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence and nuclear microsatellite markers
| journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
| volume =269
| issue =1504
| pages =1993–2006
| publisher =
| date =2002-10-07
| doi =10.1098/rspb.2002.2070
| id = ISSN: 0962-8452 (Paper) 1471-2954 (Online)
| last2 =Rasner
| first2 =Caylor A.
| last3 =Woodruff
| first3 =David S. }}
</ref>

This reclassification has implications for conservation. If there are two separate species, each will be less abundant and could be more endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species. Conversely,there is also a potential danger that, if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their products.

The Forest elephant and the Savanna elephant can also hybridise (interbreed) though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids.

Under the new two species classification, ''Loxodonta africana'' refers specifically to the Savanna Elephant, the largest of all elephants. It is the largest land animal, with males standing {{convert|3.2|m|ft}} to {{convert|4|m|ft}} at the shoulder and weighing {{convert|3500|kg|lb}} up to a reported {{convert|12000|kg|lb}}.<ref>[http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/ID/fauna/Volume1/A-115.001.002.001%20Loxodonta%20africana_E.pdf CITES Appendix II ''Loxodonta africana''] - retrieved 4 September 2008</ref>. The female is smaller, standing about {{convert|3|m|ft}} at the shoulder<ref>[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_africana.html Animal Diversity Web - ''Loxodonta africana''] - retrieved 4 September 2008</ref>. Most often, Savanna Elephants are found in open [[grassland]]s, [[marsh]]es, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone [[Sub-Saharan Africa|south of the Sahara]].

The other putative species, the Forest Elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis''), is usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter compared with the Savanna Elephant. The Forest Elephant can weigh up to {{convert|4500|kg|lb}} and stand about {{convert|3|m|ft|0}} tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins, because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, although occasionally they roam the edges of forests, thus overlapping the Savanna elephant [[Territory (animal)|territories]] and hybridizing. In 1979, [[Iain Douglas-Hamilton]] estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals.<ref>{{cite book
| last =Douglas-Hamilton
| first =Iain
| title =The African Elephant Action Plan
| publisher =
| year =1979
| location =unpublished report}}</ref> This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate<!--Please check if this is what the original source says-->,<ref>{{cite book
| last =Parker
| first =Ian
| authorlink =
| coauthors =Amin, Mohammed
| title =Ivory Crisis
| publisher = Chatto and Windus, London
| year =1983
| pages =184}}</ref> but it is very widely cited and has become a ''de facto'' baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, ''Loxodonta'' received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. According to [[IUCN]]’s African Elephant Status Report 2007<ref>{{cite book
| last =Blanc
| first =JJ
| coauthors =Barnes, RFW, Craig, GC, Dublin, HT, Thouless, CR, Douglas-Hamilton, I, Hart, JA,
| title = African Elephant Status Report 2007: An update from the African Elephant Database
| publisher = IUCN, Gland and Cambridge
| year = 2007
| pages =276
| url = http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/afesg/aed/pdfs/aesr2007.pdf
| isbn = 978-2-8317-0970-3|format=PDF}}</ref>
there are approximately between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered.<ref name="Blanc 19–28">{{cite journal
| last =Blanc
| first =JJ
| title = Changes in elephant numbers in major savanna populations in eastern and southern Africa
| journal =Pachyderm
| volume =38
| issue =38
| pages =19–28
| publisher =IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group
| date =January-June 2005
| url = http://iucn.org/afesg/pachy/pdfs/pachy38.pdf#page=22
| accessdate = 2006-12-08 }}</ref> By far the largest populations are now found in Southern and Eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per year.<ref name="Blanc 19–28"/><ref>Blanc ''et al.'' 2007, op. cit.</ref>

Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total.<ref>{{cite book
| last =Blanc
| first =JJ
| coauthors =Thouless, CR; Hart, JA; Dublin, HT; Douglas-Hamilton, I; Craig, GC; Barnes, RFW
| title = African Elephant Status Report 2002: An update from the African Elephant Database
| publisher = IUCN, Gland and Cambridge
| year = 2003
| pages =308
| url = http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/afesg/aed/pdfs/aesr2002.pdf
| isbn = 2-8317-0707-2 |format=PDF}}</ref>
Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in Central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Blake
| first =Stephen
| title = Central African Forests: Final Report on Population Surveys (2003-2005)
| publisher = CITES MIKE Programme, Nairobi
| year = 2005
| url = http://www.cites.org/common/prog/mike/survey/central_africa_survey03-04.pdf
| format =pdf
| accessdate =2006-12-08}}</ref>
[[South Africa]] elephant population more than doubled, rising from 8,000 to over 20,000, in the thirteen years after a 1995 ban on killing the animals.<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080225-AP-south-afric.html South Africa to Allow Elephant Killing]</ref> The ban was lifted in February 2008, sparking controversy among environmental groups.<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = South Africa to sanction killing of elephants
| publisher = CNN
| date = 2008-02-25
| url = http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/02/25/south.africa.elephants.ap/index.html
| format =pdf
| accessdate =2008-02-25}}</ref>

===Asian Elephant===
[[Image:Thrippunithura-Elephant4 crop.jpg|thumb|An [[Asian elephant]] named ''Sri Hari'' during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival, [[Thrippunithura]].]]
{{Main|Asian Elephant}}
The Asian elephant, ''Elephas maximus'', is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks.

The world population of Asian elephants—also called Indian Elephants—is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.eleaid.com/index.php?page=asianelephantdistribution | title = Asian Elephant distribution | publisher = EleAid | accessdate = May 2007}}</ref> The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual than the African and caused primarily by poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment.

[[Image:Decorated Indian elephant.jpg|thumb|left|A decorated Indian elephant in [[Jaipur]], [[India]].]]
[[Image:Pinnawala 01.jpg|thumb|left|Elephant orphanage in [[Sri Lanka]]]]
Several subspecies of ''Elephas maximus'' have been identified, using [[morphometric]] data and molecular markers. ''Elephas maximus maximus'' ([[Sri Lankan Elephant]]) is found only on the island of [[Sri Lanka]]. It is the largest of the Asians. There are an estimated 3,000–4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out recently. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400&nbsp;kg (12,000&nbsp;lb) and stand over 3.4&nbsp;m (11&nbsp;ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an [[orphanage]] for elephants in [[Pinnawala]], [[Sri Lanka]], which plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan Elephant from [[extinction]].

''Elephas maximus indicus'' ([[Indian Elephant]]) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000&nbsp;kg (11,000&nbsp;lb), but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available.

The [[Sumatran Elephant]], ''Elephas maximus sumatranus'', found only on [[Sumatra]], is smaller than the Indian Elephant. Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey in colour and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7–2.6&nbsp;m (5.6–8.5&nbsp;ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000&nbsp;kg (6,600&nbsp;lb). It is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats.

In 2003, a further subspecies was identified on [[Borneo]]. Named the [[Borneo pygmy elephant]], it is smaller and tamer than any other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks.

==Physical characteristics==
{{Refimprovesect|date=January 2010}}
===Trunk===
[[Image:Elephant-Trunks.png|thumb|Trunk of [[African]] (left) and [[Asia]]n (right) elephant.]]
[[File:Elephant trunk.jpg|thumb|left|Articulation of elephant trunk.]]
[[Image:Lightmatter elephanttrunk.jpg|thumb|An elephant can use its trunk for a variety of purposes. This one is wiping its eye.]]
[[Image:Elephas Maximus Eye Closeup.jpg|thumb|Eyes of an [[Asian elephant]].]]
The [[proboscis]], or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. The elephant's trunk is sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree.

Most [[herbivores]] (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether.

The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk—up to 14 litres (15 quarts) at a time—and then blow it into their mouth. Elephants also suck up water to spray on their body during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animal will then spray dirt and mud, which dries off and acts as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent [[Snorkel (swimming)|snorkel]].<ref name = "qvhxbt">{{Cite journal
| last = West
| first = John B.
| author-link = <!--http://physiology.ucsd.edu/faculty/jwest/fullCV.html-->
| title = Snorkel breathing in the elephant explains the unique anatomy of its pleura
| journal = Respiratory Physiology
| volume = 126
| issue = 1
| pages = 1–8
| year = 2001
| url = http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6T3J-42SPN0Y-1-7&_cdi=4948&_user=10&_orig=search&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2001&_sk=998739998&view=c&wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkzV&md5=47a1f5f9745e29f15d73a7f73c376a41&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
| doi = 10.1016/S0034-5687(01)00203-1 }}</ref><ref name = "pkxbpv">{{Cite journal
| last = West
| first = John B.
| author-link = <!--http://physiology.ucsd.edu/faculty/jwest/fullCV.html-->
| last2 = Fu
| first2 = Zhenxing
| last3 = Gaeth
| first3 = Ann P.
| last4 = Short
| first4 = Roger V.
| title = Fetal lung development in the elephant reflects the adaptations required for snorkeling in adult life
| journal = Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology
| volume = 138
| issue = 2-3
| pages = 325–333
| date = 2003-11-14
| url = http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6X16-49MF0FR-2-7&_cdi=7234&_user=10&_orig=article&_coverDate=11%2F14%2F2003&_sk=998619997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzb-zSkWA&md5=ad91a1eea54ef52d0a723aeec5232049&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
| doi = 10.1016/S1569-9048(03)00199-X }}</ref>

This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother-child interactions, and for dominance displays—a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunk at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them.

An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. By raising the trunk up in the air and swiveling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}

=== Tusks ===
[[Image:Tusks.png|thumb|Tusks of [[African elephant|African]] and [[Asian elephant|Asian]] elephants.]]
The [[tusk]]s of an elephant are its second upper [[incisor]]s. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks grow about 18&nbsp;cm (7&nbsp;in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees, to eat the bark; to dig into [[baobab]] trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory and occasionally as weapons.

Like humans who are typically [[Handedness|right- or left-handed]], elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3&nbsp;m (10&nbsp;ft) in length and weigh over 90&nbsp;kg (200&nbsp;lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39&nbsp;kg (86&nbsp;lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of [[calcium phosphate]] in the form of [[apatite]]. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as [[ivory]], is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population.

Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as ''[[Gomphotherium]]'', or only in their lower jaws, such as ''[[Deinotherium]]''.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Scott | first = William Berryman | title = A history of land mammals in the western hemisphere | publisher = [[The Macmillan Company]] | date = 1913 | location = New York | pages = 430 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=SOErAAAAYAAJ&dq=Gomphotherium%20%22had%20fully%20developed%20lower%20tusks%22&lr=&as_brr=1&pg=PA430#v=onepage&q=Gomphotherium%20%22had%20fully%20developed%20lower%20tusks%22&f=false | doi = | id = | isbn = }}</ref>

===Teeth===
Elephants' [[Tooth|teeth]] are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are:
*The two upper second incisors: these are the [[tusk]]s.
*The [[Deciduous teeth|milk precursors]] of the tusks.
*12 [[premolar]]s, 3 in each side of each jaw.
*12 [[Molar (tooth)|molar]]s, 3 in each side of each jaw.
[[Image:Elephant.tooth.replica.1.jpg|thumb|right|Replica of an Asian Elephant's molar, showing upper side.]]
This gives elephants a [[dentition|dental formula]] of: {{DentalFormula|upper=1.0.3.3|lower=0.0.3.3}}

Unlike most mammals, which [[Tooth development|grow]] baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. The tusks have milk precursors, which fall out quickly and the adult tusks are in place by one year of age, but the molars are replaced five times in an average elephant's lifetime.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.indyzoo.com/content.aspx?cid=302 | title = Elephant Anatomy | accessdate = 2007-05-28 | publisher = [[Indianapolis Zoo]]}}</ref> The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they move horizontally, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation. Were it not for their teeth wearing out, their metabolism would allow them to live for much longer. However, as more habitat is destroyed, the elephants' living space becomes smaller and smaller; the elderly no longer have the opportunity to roam in search of more appropriate food and will, consequently, die of starvation at an earlier age.

Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in ''[[Deinotherium]]'' and some [[mastodon]]s, but in modern elephants they disappear early without [[teeth|erupting]].

===Skin===
[[Image:African-Asian-Elephant-Skin1.png|thumb|right|Skin of an [[African elephant|African]] (left) and [[Asian elephant|Asian]] (right) elephant.]]
[[File:Elephant bathing-001.ogv|thumb|African elephant bathing]]
Elephants are colloquially called ''pachyderms'' (from their original scientific classification), which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about {{convert|2.5|cm|in|1}} thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper-thin. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails.

The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of coloured soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Although tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dirt on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources.

Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat.

===Legs and feet===
[[Image:Asian elephant eating02 - melbourne zoo.jpg|thumb|Elephant using its feet to crush a [[watermelon]] prior to eating it.]]
An elephant's legs are great straight pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently.

The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}}

Elephants swim well, but cannot [[Trot (horse gait)|trot]], [[jump]], or [[Horse gait#Gallop|gallop]]. They do have two gaits: a walk; and a faster gait that is similar to running.

In walking, the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase", the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However, an elephant moving fast uses its legs much like a running animal, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait, an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running.<ref>Moore, Tom. (May 2007). "Biomechanics: A Spring in Its Step". ''Natural History'' '''116''':(4) 28-9.</ref> Tests at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre are reported to show that fast-moving elephants 'run' with their front legs, but 'walk' with their hind legs.<ref name=BBC-Thai>Morelle, Rebecca. (12 February 2010). "Do speedy elephants walk or run?" BBC News. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8508796.stm]</ref>

Although they start this "run" at only 8&nbsp;km/h,<ref>{{cite journal| author= Ren, L. & J.R. Hutchinson | year = 2007 | title= The three-dimensional locomotor dynamics of African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants reveal a smooth gait transition at moderate speed | journal = J. Roy. Soc. Interface | doi=10.1098/rsif.2007.1095 | volume= 5 | pages= 195}}</ref> elephants have been reported to reach speeds up to 40&nbsp;km/h (25&nbsp;mph),<ref>[http://www.rvc.ac.uk/Aboutus/Staff/jhutchinson/ResearchInterests/Elephants/History.cfm Royal Veterinary College: Are fast moving elephants really running?]</ref> all the while using the same gait. In tests at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre the fastest elephants reached a top speed of 18 km/h (11&nbsp;mph).<ref name=BBC-Thai/> At this speed, most other [[quadruped|four-legged creatures]] are well into a gallop, even accounting for leg length. Spring-like kinetics could explain the difference between the motion of elephants and other animals.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Hutchinson, J.R | month = April | year = 2003 | title = Biomechanics: Are fast-moving elephants really running? | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume = 422 | pages = 493–494 | doi = 10.1038/422493a | last2 = Famini | first2 = Dan | last3 = Lair | first3 = Richard | last4 = Kram | first4 = Rodger}}</ref>

===Ears===
[[Image:African-Asian-Ears.png|thumb|Difference between [[Asian elephant|Asian]] (left) and [[African elephant|African]] (right) elephant ears.]]

The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears.

The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odour from the [[musth]] gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances.<ref>[http://www.elephantvoices.org/about_sevp/publictns.html Joyce Poole's publication ''Announcing intent: the aggressive state of musth in African elephants'']</ref>

==Biology and behavior==
[[Image:Cretanelephant-petermaas.jpg|thumb|right|The skeleton of a [[dwarf elephant]] from the island of [[Crete]]. Dwarf elephants were present on some [[Mediterranean]] islands until about 10,000 years ago.]]
===Evolution===
The earliest known ancestors of modern-day elephants evolved about 60 million years ago. The ancestor of the elephants from 37 million years ago was aquatic and had a similar lifestyle to a hippopotamus.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7347284.stm Elephant 'had aquatic ancestor']. BBC News. April 15, 2008.</ref>

===Social behavior===
Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or [[matriarch]]. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives.

The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not.
[[Image:Elephant-tracks.jpg|thumb|right|top|Elephant footprints (tire tracks for scale).]]
The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding.

The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as [[musth]], a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate.

===Mating behaviour===
[[Image:Elephant mating ritual.jpg|thumb|left|top|Elephant mating behaviour.]]
The mating season is short and females are only able to conceive for a few days each year. She will detach herself from the herd. The scent of the female (cow) elephant in heat (or estrus) attracts the male and she also uses audible signals to attract the male. As the female can usually outrun the male, she does not have to mate with every male that approaches her.

The male initiates the courtship and the female ignores him for several minutes. He then stops and starts again. Elephants display a range of affectionate interactions, such as nuzzling, trunk intertwining, and placing their trunks in each other's mouths.

In a rarely observed display of his affection, he may drape his trunk outside of his tusks during the ritual (image 1). The interactions may last for 20–30 minutes and do not necessarily result in the male mounting the female, though he may demonstrate arousal during the ritual (image 5).

The female elephant is not passive in the ritual and uses the same techniques as the male.

African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 46% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity.<ref>Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.427-430</ref>

Rogue elephant is a term for a lone, violently aggressive wild elephant. It is a [[calque]] of the [[Sinhalese language|Sinhala]] term ''hora aliya''. Its introduction to [[English language|English]] has been attributed by the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] to Sir [[James Emerson Tennent]], but this usage may have been pre-dated by William Sirr.

===Intelligence===
{{Main|Elephant intelligence}}
[[Image:ele-brain.png|thumb|Human, dolphin and elephant brains up to scale. (1)-[[cerebrum]] (1a)-[[temporal lobe]] and (2)-[[cerebellum]].]]
With a mass just over 5&nbsp;kg (11&nbsp;lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any other land animal. A wide variety of behaviours associated with intelligence have been attributed to elephants, including those associated with [[grief]], making music, [[art]], altruism, [[allomothering]], play, use of tools,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/features/302feature1.shtml | title = Not so Dumbo: Elephant Intelligence | last=Braden | first = Claire | accessdate = 2007-05-27}}</ref> [[compassion]] and [[self-awareness]]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6100430.stm | title = Elephants' jumbo mirror ability | accessdate = 2007-08-10 | work=BBC News | date=2006-10-31}}</ref>. Elephants may be on a par with other intelligent species, such as [[cetaceans]]<ref name = "fusukt"/> and non-human [[primate]]s.<ref name = "hfezyk"/> The largest areas in the elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination.
<!-- Can someone make this following sentence understandable, please? Is the lobe greater in SIZE or greater in COMPLEXITY? Increased out of any comparative proportion, the [[temporal lobe]], responsible for processing of audio information, hearing and language, is relatively far greater than that of dolphins (which use elaborate echolocation) and humans (who use language and symbols). -->

===Senses===
Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. Elephants communicate by sound over large distances of several kilometers partly through the ground, which is important for their social lives. Elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully positioning their feet.

The eyesight of elephants is relatively poor.

===Self-awareness===
[[Mirror test|Mirror self recognition]] is a test of self awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, which were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included non-visible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability has also been demonstrated in [[humans]], [[apes]], [[Bottlenose dolphin]]s,<ref>Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss (2006) Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] 103(45):17053–17057 10.1073/pnas.0608062103 [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0608062103v1 abstract]</ref> and [[magpies]].<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080819/sc_nm/magpies_mirror_dc Magpies are no bird-brains, mirror test shows]</ref>
[[Image:Curious elephant, Zim.jpg|thumb|A young elephant in [[Zimbabwe]].]]

===Communication===
Elephants make a number of sounds when communicating. Elephant are famous for their trumpet calls which are made when the animal blows though its nostrils. Trumpeting is usually made during excitement. Its use varies from startlement to a cry of help to rage. Elephants also make rumbling growls when greeting each other. The growl becomes a bellow when the mouth is open and a bellow becomes a moan when prolonged. This can escalate with a [[Roar (animal)|roar]] when threatening another elephant or another animal.

Elephants can communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound ([[infrasound]]), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel in the air and through the ground much farther than higher frequencies. These calls range in frequency from 15–35 Hz and can be as loud as 117 dB, allowing communication for many kilometres, with a possible maximum range of around 10&nbsp;km.<ref name=Larom>{{Cite journal
| url = http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/200/3/421.pdf
| title = The influence of surface atmospheric conditions on the range and area reached by animal vocalizations
| year = 1997
| journal = Journal of experimental biology
| pages = 421–431
| volume = 200
| issue = 3
| last1 = Larom | first1 = D.
| last2 = Garstang | first2 = M.
| last3 = Payne | first3 = K.
| last4 = Raspet | first4 = R.
| last5 = Lindeque | first5 = M.
| accessdate = 2009-05-27 }}</ref> This sound can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by [[Katy Payne]], of the Elephant Listening Project,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/elephant/ | title = Elephant Listening Project | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> and is detailed in her book ''Silent Thunder''. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range.<ref name=Larom/>

===Diet===
Elephants are [[herbivore]]s, and spend up to 16 hours a day eating plants. Their diet is highly variable, both seasonally and across habitats and regions. Elephants are primarily browsers, feeding on the leaves, bark, and fruits of trees and shrubs, but they may also eat consderable grasses and herbs. As is true for other non-ruminant unglulates, elephants only digest approximately 40% of what they eat. {{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}. They make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant consumes 140–270&nbsp;kg (300–600&nbsp;lb) of food a day.

===Reproduction and life cycle===
====Elephant calves====
Female elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, when she comes into [[Estrous cycle|estrus]], a short phase of receptiveness lasting a couple of days, for the first time. Females announce their estrus with smell signals and special calls.
[[Image:Baby elephants3.jpg|thumb|right|Female [[African]] elephant with calf, in [[Kenya]].]]
Females prefer bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival.

After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother gives birth to a calf that weighs about 115&nbsp;kg (250&nbsp;lb) and stand over 75&nbsp;cm (2.5&nbsp;ft) tall. Elephants have a very long development. As is common with more intelligent species, they are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they rely on their elders to teach them what they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. The consequences of this for the next generation are not known.

A new calf is usually the centre of attention for herd members. Adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies almost completely on its trunk to discover the world around it.

Elephants within a herd are usually related, and all members of the tightly knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own baby. The more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. According to [http://elephanttrust.org/node/41 Cynthia Moss], a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf.<ref>Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family - [http://elephanttrust.org/node/41 Cynthia Moss]. 2000.</ref> They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a baby has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself.

===Effect on the environment===
Elephants can have profound impacts on the ecosystems they occupy, and both positive and negative effects on other species. [[Dung beetle]]s and [[termite]]s both eat elephant feces. During the dry season, elephants use their tusks to dig into river beds to reach underground sources of water. These holes may then become essential sources of [[water]] for other species. Elephants make paths through their environment that are used by other animals. Some of these pathways have apparently been used by several generations of elephants, used by humans and eventually even been converted to roads.
Elephants' foraging activities can sometimes greatly affect the areas in which they live. By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots, they reduce woody cover, creating clearings in forests, converting forests to savannas, and converting savannas to grasslands. These changes tend to benefit grazers at the expense of browsers.

==Threat of extinction==
[[Image:Ivory trade.jpg|thumb|Men with [[African Elephant]] tusks, [[Dar es Salaam]], c.&nbsp;1900]]

===Hunting===
The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140&nbsp;kg (300&nbsp;lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. However, many African governments legally allow limited hunting. The large amount of money that is charged for the necessary permits is often used to support conservation efforts, and the small number of permits issued (usually for older animals) ensure that populations are not depleted.[http://www.iwmc.org/elephant/981127.htm]

At the turn of the 20th century, it is estimated that elephants numbered between 5–10 million, but hunting and habitat destruction had reduced their numbers to 400,000 to 500,000 by the end of the century.<ref>[http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761575386/Elephant.html Elephant]. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009. [http://www.webcitation.org/5kwbghZ59 Archived] 2009-10-31.</ref> While elephant populations are increasing in parts of southern and eastern Africa<ref name="Blanc et al. 2005">Blanc, J.J., Barnes, R.F.W., Craig, G.C., Douglas-Hamilton, I., Dublin, H.T., Hart, H.T. & Thouless, C.R. 2005. Changes in elephant numbers in major savanna populations in eastern and southern Africa. Pachyderm 38, 19–28</ref>, other African nations report a decrease of their elephant populations by as much as two-thirds, and populations in even some protected areas are in danger of being eliminated<ref name="NGN">{{cite web |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081211-zakouma-elephants-missions.html |title=WWF: Poaching May Erase Elephants From Chad Wildlife Park |accessdate=2008-12-24|date=2008-12-24}}</ref> [[Chad]] has a decades-old history of poaching of elephants, which has caused the elephant population of the region, which exceeded 300,000 in 1970, to drop to approximately 10,000 today.<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060830-elephants-chad_2.html African Elephants Slaughtered in Herds Near Chad Wildlife Park]. National Geographic News.</ref> In [[Virunga National Park]], in eastern [[Democratic Republic of Congo]], the number of elephants living in the observable area of the park fell even more dramatically: from 2,889 in 1951 to 348 in 2006.<ref>Marc Languy and Emmanuel de Merode (eds.) 2009 ''Virunga: The Survival of Africa's First National Park'' Lannoo, Tielt, Belgium. p.143</ref>

===Habitat loss===
Another threat to elephant's survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/ConservationGIS/projects/asian_elephants/conflict.cfm | title = Conservation GIS Projects | publisher = Smithsonian National Zoological Park | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> Lacking the massive tusks of its African cousins, the Asian elephant's demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat.

As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources.

===National parks===
[[Image:Anakotta1.jpg|thumb|An [[Elephant sanctuary]] at [[Punnathur kotta]], [[Kerala]], [[south India]].]]
Africa's first official reserve, [[Kruger National Park]], eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks.<ref>[http://www.krugerpark.co.za/Krugerpark_History-travel/kruger-national-park-history.html History of Kruger Park: Kruger National Park: South Africa<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> There are, however, many problems associated with the establishment of these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. Once a reserve is established and fence erected, many animals find themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals may die as a result, while others, like the elephants, may just trample over the fences, wreaking havoc in nearby fields. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes.<ref>[http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/Impact/impact.html Impact<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Additionally, some reserves, such as Kruger National Park has, in the opinion of wildlife managers, suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. On 25 February 2008, the South Africa announced that they would reintroduce culling for the first time since 1994 to control elephant numbers.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3431369.ece | title=Animal rights outrage over plan to cull South Africa's elephants | date=2008-02-26 | work=Times Online | accessdate=2008-03-22 | location=London}}</ref> Nevertheless, as scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephant's last hope against the rapidly changing world around them.

==Humanity and elephants==
[[File:Kailash-elephants.jpg | Elephant pillar carvings at [[Kailash Temple]], India|thumb|right]]
===Harvest from the wild===
[[File:Lombardy elephant, ca. 1400.jpg|thumb|Indian(?) elephant, from a [[Lombardy]] manuscript, circa 1400.]]
The harvest of elephants, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait.

It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically.<ref>The Learning Kingdom's Cool Fact of the Day for March 30, 1999, Why are elephants in Africa being born without tusks</ref>

===Domestication and use===
[[File:India Tourism Elephant.jpg|thumb|left|Elephants are used to entertain tourists at some beaches as at [[Havelock Island]], [[India]].]]
Elephants have been [[working animals]] used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of ''[[musth]]'' is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception, however: as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than breeding them in captivity (see also [[Elephant "Crushing"|elephant "crushing"]]).
[[Image:IRHT 126277-p.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Judea]]n rebel [[Eleazar Maccabeus]] kills a [[Seleucid]] war elephant and is crushed under it (Miniature from a manuscript ''[[Speculum Humanae Salvationis]]).]]

The [[Laos|Laotians]] have been domesticating elephant for centuries, and an approximate 500 domesticated elephants are still employed, the majority of which work in the [[Xaignabouli]] province. These elephants are mainly employed in the logging industry, with ecotourism emerging as a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative. [[Elefantasia]] is a local INGO aiming to reconvert logging elephants into ecotourism practices, thus allowing [[Asian elephants]] the ability to supply their [[mahouts]] with income whilst still allowed to breed.

Elephants are also commonly exhibited in [[zoos]] and [[wild animal parks]]. 1200 Elephants are kept in western zoos. A study shows that the lifespan of elephants in European zoos is about half as long as those living in protected areas in Africa and Asia.<ref>"[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/322/5908/1721b/DC1/1 Science Podcast transcript]" (PDF) ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' 12 December 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2008.</ref>

Elephants are revered in [[India]] (and are worshipped in ceremonies such as the [[Aanayoottu]]).

====Warfare====
{{Main|War elephant}}
[[War elephant]]s were used by armies in the [[India]]n sub-continent, the [[Warring States Period|Warring States]] of [[China]], and later by the [[Persian Empire]]. This use was adopted by [[Hellenistic]] armies after [[Alexander the Great]] experienced their worth against [[King Porus]], notably in the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] and [[Seleucid]] diadoch empires. The [[Carthage|Carthaginian]] general [[Hannibal Barca|Hannibal]] took elephants across the [[Alps]] when he was fighting the [[Roman Republic|Romans]], but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African (sub)species, the North African (Forest) elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see [[Battle of Hydaspes]]).

====Industry====
[[Image:Elephantcamp.jpg|thumb|Elephant work camp in [[Thailand]]. Elephants are used for heavy forest work and in circus presentations.]]
Throughout [[Myanmar]] (Burma), [[Thailand|Siam]], [[India]], and most of South Asia elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to [[crushing by elephant|crush the condemned underfoot]].

Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type [[hunting]], especially Indian ''shikar'' (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, whilst Asian elephants have been used for [[transport]] and [[entertainment]].

====Zoo and circuses====
There is growing resistance<ref>{{cite web | url = http://elephanttrust.org/search/node/elephants+capture+training | title = Resistance against capture and training of wild elephants | publisher = [http://elephanttrust.org/ Amboseli Trust for Elephants] | accessdate = 2007-12-01}}</ref> against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege that elephants in zoos and circuses "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.savewildelephants.com/ | title = SaveWildElephants.com | publisher = [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]] | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> Zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and that minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the well being of elephants in captivity. Circuses continue to have a mixed record. Recently, the city of [[Los Angeles]]' closed an elephant act with [[Circus Vazquez]] due to numerous instances of abuse and neglect (April 2008) <ref>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2008/04/la-city-animal.html "L.A. City Animal Services shuts down elephant circus show," ''Los Angeles Times'', April 11, 2008]</ref>, and, according to [[PETA]], 27 elephants owned by [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus]] have died since 1992.<ref>[http://www.circuses.com/pdfs/ringlingfactsheet.pdf PETA Fact Sheet on Ringling Brothers Circus, April 22, 2008]</ref>

Elephants have traditionally been a major part of [[Circus (performing art)|circuses]] around the world, being intelligent enough to be trained in a variety of acts (see for example [[P.T. Barnum]]'s [[Jumbo]] and [[John L. Sullivan (Elephant)|John L. Sullivan]], the famous "Boxing Elephant"). However, conditions for circus elephants are unnatural (confinement in small pens or cages, restraints on their feet, lack of companionship of other elephants). Perhaps as a result, there are occasional instances of them turning on their keepers or handlers (examples include [[Black Diamond (elephant)|Black Diamond]] and "[[Mary (elephant)|Murderous Mary]]").

Elephants raised in captivity sometimes show "rocking behavior", a rhythmic and repetitive swaying which is unreported in free ranging wild elephants. Thought to be symptomatic of stress disorders, and probably made worse by a barren environment,<ref name="informaworld.com">[http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a783707472~db=all Stereotypic Behavior of a Female Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus) in a Zoo]</ref> rocking behavior may be a precursor to aggressive behavior in captive elephants.<ref>[http://www.helpelephantsinzoos.com/topeka_zoo.html Help Elephants in Zoos<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.elephants.com/media/yahoo_11_18_05.htm The Elephant Sanctuary, Hohenwald, Tennessee<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[:Image:Devi AsianElephant SanDiegoZoo 20071230 RockingBehaviour.gif|This link]] is to an image of Devi (''little princess''), a 30-year-old Asian Elephant raised in captivity at the San Diego Zoo showing "rocking behavior".

====Hybrids====
Although successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is highly unlikely in the wild, in 1978 at [[Chester Zoo]], an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "[[Motty]]", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later<ref>http://www.elephant.se/Motty_the_elephant_crossbreed.php?open=Living%20Elephant%20Species</ref>. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British [[Natural History Museum]], London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived.

===Elephant rage===<!--This section is linked to from [[Elephant rage]]-->
[[Image:Devi AsianElephant SanDiegoZoo 20071230 RockingBehaviour STATIC.gif|framed|right|Devi (''little princess''), a 30-year-old Asian Elephant raised in captivity at the San Diego Zoo exhibiting "rocking behavior" ('''[[:Image:Devi AsianElephant SanDiegoZoo 20071230 RockingBehaviour.gif|animation]]'''), a rhythmic and repetitive swaying which is unreported in free ranging wild elephants. Thought to be symptomatic of stress disorders, and probably made worse by a barren environment,<ref name="informaworld.com"/> rocking behavior may be a precursor to aggressive behavior in captive elephants.]]
Despite its popularity in zoos, and cuddly portrayal as gentle giants in fiction, elephants are among the world's most dangerous animals. They can crush and kill any other land animal, even the [[rhinoceros]]. They can experience bouts of rage, and can be apparently vindictive.<ref name="huggler">{{cite web | url = http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/animal-behaviour-rogue-elephants-419678.html | title = Animal Behaviour: Rogue Elephants | last = Huggler | first = Justin | publisher = The Independent | date = 2006-10-12 | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages after cullings done in the 1970s and 80s.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/magazine/08elephant.html?pagewanted=print An Elephant Crackup?]</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/02/16/1140064206413.html | title = Elephant rage: they never forgive, either | first = Roger | last = Highfield | publisher = [[Sydney Morning Herald]]| date = 2006-02-17 | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people regularly. In the Indian state of [[Jharkhand]], 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001.<ref name="huggler"/>

====Musth====
{{Main|Musth}} <!-- I merged this section into page [[Musth]] to avoid [[content forking]]. [[User:Anthony Appleyard]] 10:11, 8 August 2008 (UTC) -->
Adult male elephants naturally periodically enter the state called ''[[musth]]'' (Hindi for "madness"), sometimes spelt "must" in English.

====Other causes====
At least a few elephants have been suspected by local people to be drunk during their attacks, although this has been doubted by authorities. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/241781.stm | title = India elephant rampage | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = 1998-12-24 | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but the theory was not widely accepted.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/482001.stm | title = Drunken elephants trample village | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = 1999-10-21 | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref> Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to killing of about 200 elephants by locals.<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2583891.stm | title = Drunk elephants kill six people | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = 2002-12-17 | accessdate = 2007-06-16}}</ref>

===Etymology===
'''Olifant''' and its variations (ex. ''oliphant'', ''olyphant'') are archaic spellings of ''elephant''. Aside from elephants, the word has been used to refer to [[ivory]], [[elephant tusk]]s, [[olifant (instrument)|musical horns]] made of elephant tusks, or a musical instrument resembling such horns.

It appears in [[Middle English]] as ''olifant'' or ''olifaunt'', and was borrowed from Medieval French ''olifanz''. In Dutch ''olifant'' means elephant. The French word owes something to both [[Old High German]] ''olbenta'' "camel", and to Latin ''elephantus'' "elephant", a word of [[Greek language|Greek]] origin. OHG ''olbenta'' is a word of old [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] origin; cf. [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''ulbandus'' also meaning "camel". But the form of the OHG and Gothic words suggests it is also a borrowing, perhaps indeed directly or indirectly from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''elephas'' (ελεφας) literally "ivory", though apparently with some confusion as to the animal the word referred to.

===In popular culture===
{{See also|Cultural depictions of elephants}}
[[File:Justso elephantchild.jpg|thumb|140px|right|Depiction of a [[crocodile]] stretching the nose of a young elephant in [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s "Elephant's Child" from ''[[Just So Stories]]''.]]

Elephants are ubiquitous in Western [[popular culture]] as emblems of the [[exotic]]<ref name="Van Riper 73">{{cite book|last=Van Riper|first=A. Bowdoin|title=Science in popular culture: a reference guide|publisher=[[Greenwood Press]]|location=Westport|year=2002|page=73|isbn=0-313-31822-0}}</ref> because their unique appearance and size sets them apart from other animals and because, like other African animals such as the [[giraffe]], [[rhinoceros]], and [[hippopotamus]], they are unfamiliar to Western audiences.<ref name="Van Riper 74">Van Riper, op.cit., p. 74.</ref> Popular culture's stock references to elephants rely on this exotic uniqueness.<ref name="Van Riper 74" /> For instance, a "[[white elephant]]" is a byword for something expensive, useless and bizarre.<ref name="Van Riper 74" />

As characters, elephants are relegated largely to [[children's literature]],<ref name="Van Riper 73" /> in which they are generally cast as models of exemplary behaviour,<ref name="Van Riper 73" /> but account for some of this branch of literature's most iconic characters.<ref name="Van Riper 73" /> Many stories tell of isolated young elephants returning to a close-knit community, such as ''The Elephant’s Child'' from [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[Just So Stories]]'' (1902), ''[[Dumbo]]'' (1942) or ''[[The Saggy Baggy Elephant]]'' (1947).<ref name="Van Riper 74" /> Other elephant heroes given human qualities include [[Laurent de Brunhoff]]'s [[anthropomorphic]] ''[[Babar the Elephant|Babar]]'' (1935), [[David McKee]]'s [[Elmer the Patchwork Elephant|Elmer]] (1989) and [[Dr. Seuss]]'s [[Horton the Elephant|Horton]] (1940).<ref name="Van Riper 74" /> More than other exotic animals, elephants in fiction are surrogates for [[human]]s,<ref name="Van Riper 74" /> with their concern for the community and each other depicted as something to aspire to.<ref name="Van Riper 75">Van Riper, op.cit., p. 75.</ref>

==See also==
{{portalpar|Mammals}}
*[[Dwarf elephant]]
*[[Elephant graveyard]]
*[[Elephants in Kerala culture]]
*[[Elephant sanctuary]]
*[[Execution by elephant]]
*[[History of elephants in Europe]]
*[[Mela shikar]]
*[[Temple elephant]]
*[[War elephant]]
*[[White elephant]]
*[[Year of the Elephant]]/[[Al-Fil]]

==References==
<!-- Article is inconsistent with Elephans, Palaeoloxodon etc pages. See also Biol. Lett.2:451 doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0467 but see also BiolLett3:55,57,60. First and last papers have digital appendices. -->
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Debruyne, R., Barriel, V., & Tassy, P. (2003). Mitochondrial cytochrome b of the lyakhov mammoth (proboscidea, mammalia): New data and phylogenetic analyses of elephantidae. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 26(3), 421-434.
* {{MSW3 Shoshani|pages=90–91}}
* [[s:The Blindmen and the Elephant|Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant"]] by [[John Godfrey Saxe]]
* [[Heathcote Williams|Williams, Heathcote]],'' Sacred Elephant'', New York, Harmony Books, 1989. ISBN 0517573202

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Elephant}}
{{Wikibooks|Dichotomous Key|Proboscidea}}
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<!-- ============================================================================= -->
*[http://www.upali.ch/elephant_encyclopedia.html Elephant encyclopedia]
*[http://www.elephant.se/ Elephants Encyclopedia]
*[http://www.elephant-news.com/ Elephant News]: news articles about elephants
*[http://www.elephantvoices.org ElephantVoices]: information about elephant communication
*[http://www.elephantconservationmedicine.com/ Elephant Conservation Science and Veterinary Medicine Group]

<!-- [might be used as source, but not as external link] * C. Johnson, [http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s24742.htm "Elephant trunks were once snorkels"], ''News in Science'' 1999-05-11 -->

{{Proboscidea}}

[[Category:Elephants| ]]
[[Category:Famous elephants| ]]
[[Category:Tool-using species]]
[[Category:Herbivorous animals]]

{{Link FA|kn}}
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[[ace:Gajah]]
[[af:Olifant]]
[[am:ዝሆን]]
[[ang:Elpend]]
[[ar:فيل]]
[[an:Elephantidae]]
[[ast:Elefante]]
[[az:Fil]]
[[bn:হাতি]]
[[zh-min-nan:Chhiūⁿ]]
[[be:Слон]]
[[be-x-old:Слон]]
[[bs:Slon]]
[[br:Olifant]]
[[bg:Слонове]]
[[ca:Elefant]]
[[cs:Slon]]
[[cy:Eliffant]]
[[de:Elefanten]]
[[nv:Bichį́į́h yee adilohii]]
[[et:Elevant]]
[[el:Ελέφαντας]]
[[es:Elephantidae]]
[[eo:Elefanto]]
[[eu:Elefante]]
[[fa:فیل]]
[[fo:Fílur]]
[[fr:Éléphant]]
[[fy:Oaljefanten]]
[[ga:Eilifint]]
[[gv:Elefant]]
[[gd:Oilbheint]]
[[gl:Elefante]]
[[gan:象]]
[[hak:Siong]]
[[ko:코끼리]]
[[ha:Giwa]]
[[hi:हाथी]]
[[hr:Slonovi]]
[[io:Elefanto]]
[[id:Gajah]]
[[ia:Elephante]]
[[zu:Indlovu]]
[[is:Fíll]]
[[it:Elephantidae]]
[[he:פיליים]]
[[jv:Gajah]]
[[kn:ಆನೆ]]
[[ka:სპილოსებრნი]]
[[kk:Піл]]
[[sw:Ndovu]]
[[kg:Nzau]]
[[ht:Elefan]]
[[ku:Fîl]]
[[lv:Ziloņi]]
[[lb:Elefanten]]
[[lt:Drambliai]]
[[li:Olifante]]
[[ln:Nzɔku]]
[[hu:Elefántfélék]]
[[mk:Слон]]
[[ml:ആന]]
[[mr:हत्ती]]
[[arz:فيل]]
[[ms:Gajah]]
[[nl:Olifanten]]
[[new:किसी]]
[[ja:ゾウ]]
[[nn:Elefant]]
[[nrm:Êléphant]]
[[nds:Elefant]]
[[pl:Słoniowate]]
[[pt:Elefante]]
[[ro:Elefant]]
[[qu:Elephanti]]
[[ru:Слоновые]]
[[sco:Elephant]]
[[st:Tlou]]
[[sq:Elefanti]]
[[scn:Lefanti]]
[[si:අලි]]
[[simple:Elephant]]
[[sk:Slonovité]]
[[sl:Sloni]]
[[sr:Слон]]
[[su:Gajah]]
[[fi:Norsut]]
[[sv:Elefanter]]
[[tl:Elepante]]
[[ta:யானை]]
[[te:ఏనుగు]]
[[th:ช้าง]]
[[tg:Фил]]
[[ve:Nḓou]]
[[tr:Fil]]
[[uk:Слонові]]
[[ur:ہاتھی]]
[[ug:پىل]]
[[vi:Voi]]
[[war:Elepante]]
[[wo:Ñay]]
[[yi:העלפאנד]]
[[zh-yue:象]]
[[bat-smg:Dromblīs]]
[[zh:象]]

Revision as of 20:01, 14 March 2010

An elephant is an octopus, but with only four legs.

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