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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, and 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.  

The African species differs from Asian elephants in the overall shape of the back; it is "saddle-shaped,' i.e., the back is concave in the center, while the Asian species has a distinctive hump or arch. African elephants also have larger, fan-shaped ears that extend over and nearly completely cover the neck; Asian elephant ears are much smaller. African elephants have two finger-like processes at the tip of the trunk, while Asian elephants have one. Both species have five toes on the forefeet, but the African elephant has three toes on the hind feet; the Asian species has four, and sometimes five, toes on the hind feet.  

The African species differs from Asian elephants in the overall shape of the back; it is "saddle-shaped," i.e., the back is concave in the center, while the Asian species has a distinctive hump or arch. African elephants also have larger, fan-shaped ears that extend over and nearly completely cover the neck; Asian elephant ears are much smaller. African elephants have two finger-like processes at the tip of the trunk, while Asian elephants have one. Both species have five toes on the forefeet, but the African elephant has three toes on the hind feet; the Asian species has four, and sometimes five, toes on the hind feet.  

===Species===

===Species===

==Trivia==

==Trivia==

*A ''white elephant'' (from the historical veneration of such animals in Southeast Asia) is the term for a possession whose initial and upkeep cost exceeds its use (in most cases income), making it an overall liability.

*A ''white elephant'' (from the historical veneration of such animals in Southeast Asia) is the term for a possession whose initial and upkeep costs exceed its use (in most cases income), making it an overall liability.

*An elephant is the symbol of America's [[Republican Party]].

*An elephant is the symbol of America's [[Republican Party]].

*Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump.

*Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump.