The African elephant, the largest living land mammal, is distinguished from the smaller Indian elephant (Elephas maximus) by its size and huge ears, which it flaps to cool off and to keep bugs out of its eyes.
The trunk, an extension of its upper lip and nose, is used for activities such as drinking, bathing, smelling, greeting, grasping, and bringing food — grasses, leaves, and fruit — to its mouth.
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It can eat more than three hundred pounds (135 kg) of food in a day.
Cows and their calves live together in a family unit led by an older cow, the matriarch.
Males are mostly solitary, meeting with females to mate.
Hunted for centuries for their ivory tusks — elongated incisors — these elephants are now protected, but poaching and habitat loss still threaten them.
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