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==Description==
==Description==
Elephants are the largest land animals alive today. The largest elephant ever recorded (the Fenykovi elephant, now in the [[Smithsonian Institution]]) was a male shot in [[Angola]] in 1955; it weighed about 10.7 tonnes (12 U.S. tons) and stood 13 feet, 2 inches at the shoulder.<ref>http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/thisday/march.htm</ref><ref>http://www.cardcow.com/151863/african-bush-elephant-animals-elephants/</ref> The slightly-smaller Asian elephant had a maximum recorded height of 11 feet 9 inches and eight tons in one individual recorded in 1985. Forest elephant bulls rarely exceed eight feet in height.
Elephants are the largest land animals alive today. The largest elephant ever recorded (the Fenykovi elephant, now in the [[Smithsonian Institution]]) was a male shot in [[Angola]] in 1955; it weighed about 10.7 tonnes (12 U.S. tons) and stood 13 feet, 2 inches at the shoulder.<ref>http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/thisday/march.htm</ref><ref>http://www.cardcow.com/151863/african-bush-elephant-animals-elephants/</ref> The slightly smaller Asian elephant had a maximum recorded height of 11 feet 9 inches and eight tons in one individual recorded in 1985. Forest elephant bulls rarely exceed eight feet in height.
Apart from their massive size, their most striking features are a long trunk, or proboscis, a flexible nose strong enough to lift heavy objects. Their skin is up to 1.5 inches thick and gray, with African bush elephants more heavily wrinkled than their Asian counterparts. All three species have ivory tusks, but female Asian elephants generally lack them unless they are rudimentary in size, and even then they are usually only seen when the mouth is open. The legs are columnar and massive; the feet are broad and round.
Apart from their massive size, their most striking features are a long trunk, or proboscis, a flexible nose strong enough to lift heavy objects. Their skin is up to 1.5 inches thick and gray, with African bush elephants more heavily wrinkled than their Asian counterparts. All three species have ivory tusks, but female Asian elephants generally lack them unless they are rudimentary in size, and even then they are usually only seen when the mouth is open. The legs are columnar and massive; the feet are broad and round.