Elephants are used for many reasons. People domesticate the elephants for forestry work in Asia and they are also used in circuses. The African elephant is the largest of all living land mammals in the world. Males can weigh up to 6 tons and be from 10-11 feet tall. Females are a little smaller, weighing about 4 tons. The African elephants are usually bigger than the Asian elephants. African elephants live to be about 70 years old. Did you know that elephants talk to each other? They do, but not like us. They make rumbling noises that sound like roars! This is to help find each other when they are out of sight when searching for food! They also make a trumpeting noise which is a warning to its enemies or when it is angry.

Elephants can walk a steady pace of 5 mph, and a herd can easily walk 50 miles in one day! The undersides of their feet are soft and cushioned which helps them to carry great amounts of weight at one time for great distances. This also allows them to walk without making very much noise. One of the elephants most feared enemies is a human!! The ancestors of modern elephants first appear in the fossil record during the Eocene Period or about 45 to 55 million years ago.The first elephant Moeritherium was quite different from today's elephant. It was about two feet tall and had no trunk!

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