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|genus=Elephas<br/>Loxodonta

|genus=Elephas<br/>Loxodonta

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|species=E. maximus<br/>L. africana<br/>L. cyclotis

|species=E. maximus<br/>L. africana

|binomialname=

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'''Elephants''' are three species of large land mammals belonging to the family Elephantidae, the only extant family belonging to the order Proboscidea. The three elephant species currently recognized by scientists are the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), African forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''). Centuries of hunting elephants for their ivory has reduced the population of these animals. Renewed efforts at stewardship have caused a population boom, with the number of elephants in Africa alone tripling in the last decade.

'''Elephants''' are two species of large land mammals belonging to the family Elephantidae, the only extant family belonging to the order Proboscidea. The two elephant species currently recognized by scientists are the African elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') and the Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''). Centuries of hunting elephants for their ivory has reduced the population of these animals. Renewed efforts at stewardship have caused a population boom, with the number of elephants in Africa alone tripling in the last decade.

==Description==

==Description==

===Species===

===Species===

African elephants are represented by two species, with one subspecies living into historical times:

African elephants are represented by two subspecies<ref>http://worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant</ref>:

*Bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), of the savannahs and grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa;

*Bush, or savannah elephant (''Loxodonta africana africana''), of the savannahs and grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa;

::North African elephant (''Loxodonta africana pharaoensis''), of north Africa, now extinct. It may have been the elephant species used by [[Hannibal]] in his march against the Romans.

*Forest elephant (''Loxodonta africana cyclotis''), of the tropical rain forests in central Africa.

*Forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis''), of the tropical rain forests in central Africa.

Some authorities consider both animals to be distinct species, with the extinct North African elephant (''Loxodonta africana pharaoensis'') a subspecies of the bush elephant.

 

The Asian elephant has three subspecies:

The Asian elephant has three subspecies:

*Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus''), of southern and south-eastern Asia;

*Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus''), of southern and south-eastern Asia;