Elephants

There are two main species of the elephant (Elephas maximus), which are commonly known as the African elephant and the Indian elephant. The African elephant is the largest living land creature and can weight up to eight tons and measure several meters in height. The Indian elephant is slightly smaller. Elephants are well known for their trunks and for their tusks, which are made of the highly prized substance ivory, making elephants a major target of poachers. The number of elephants in the wild has declined considerably as a result of encroachment onto their natural habitat and through poaching. There are estimated to be somewhere between 300,000–600,000 African elephants remaining in 37 different countries, and between 35,000–50,000 Asian elephants in 13 countries. Hundreds are known ...