ELEPHANT
•Elephants are the biggest land animals in the world. These mammals have thick, wrinkly gray skin and long noses called trunks. They live in grasslands and forests and feed mainly on grass and the fruit and leaves of trees. Elephants are lives in Africa and the other in Asia. African elephants are larger and fiercer, with bigger tusks and ears.
Elephants use their trunks to smell, to greet one another, and to put food and water into their mouths. They keep cool by flapping their ears to make a breeze. this cools the blood that passes through thier ears. They blow out water from their trunks to give themselves a shower.
•A herd of elephants travels many miles in search of food and water. •Elephants’ tusk, or long front teeth, are made of ivory. For years, people haunted elephants for this ivory to make jewelry, piano keys, and tool handles. Now it is against the law.
DID YOU KNOW?
>A mother elephant is pregnant for nearly two years before her baby is born. This is longer than any other mammal.
>An elephant's trunk contains over fifty thousand muscles.
>An elephant's closet living relative is the rabbit-like hyrax, which is small enough to fit in your pocket.
