African elephant

The African bush elephant is the largest animal that lives on land. It has thick grey skin, two long white tusks, and a set of big, wide ears. Grown-up males can stand more than three metres tall at the shoulder, which is taller than two grown people standing on top of each other. Elephants like this one live in many parts of Africa, from open grasslands to forests and wetlands.

The most amazing part of an elephant is its trunk. The trunk is really a very long nose, and it has two soft finger-like tips at the end. An elephant uses its trunk to breathe, to smell, to drink, and to pick things up. It can gently lift a single leaf or pull down a whole branch. Elephants also flap their big ears to help stay cool on hot days.

Elephants are plant eaters. They munch on grasses, leaves, bark, herbs, and fruit, and a grown elephant can eat around 150 kilograms of plants every day. Because they eat so much, they spend many hours finding food and walking to water holes. As they wander and drop seeds along the way, they help new plants grow across the land.

Elephants live in close families. A family is usually a group of mothers, aunts, and their young, led by the oldest and wisest female, who is called the matriarch. She remembers where to find food and water, even in hard times. Grown male elephants often live alone or in small groups of other males. Family members look after one another and stay together for many years.

There are fewer African bush elephants than there once were, and scientists now count them as endangered. They are hunted by some people for their ivory tusks, and the wild places they need are shrinking and breaking into smaller pieces. Many parks, rangers, and local communities are now working together to keep elephants safe and to give them room to roam.