Elephants.
Publié le 06/12/2021
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Elephants.
What if you had to ride an elephant to school? An elephant is huge. You have to climb up on a
platform to get on an elephant's back. You might sit on the elephant's neck and hold on with
your legs. You might sit on a seat on the elephant's back. People in Asia once rode elephants for
transportation. They rode elephants into battle. They trained these intelligent animals to haul
logs and do other work.
Elephants live in Africa and parts of Asia. They are the biggest animals alive today. Elephants
have long trunks. The trunk is made of the elephant's nose and upper lip. An elephant has two
big tusks, one on each side of its mouth. The tusks are made of ivory.
WHY DO ELEPHANTS HAVE TRUNKS?
An elephant uses its trunk like a hand. It breaks off branches from trees and shrubs with its trunk. It
brings food to its mouth with its trunk. Elephants eat leaves, twigs, flowers, grass, and other plants.
An elephant drinks with its trunk. The trunk sucks up water from a stream or water hole. Then the
elephant squirts the water into its mouth.
An elephant uses its trunk to take a shower. The elephant squirts water from its trunk over its thick,
wrinkled skin. Sometimes an elephant wades into water over its head. Then the underwater elephant
sticks its trunk above the water like a snorkel and breathes in air.
Elephants also use their trunks for smelling odors nearby and faraway. The trunk goes up and sniffs the
air for faint smells. Then the elephant sticks its trunk in its mouth and "tastes" the faint odor.
Elephants have tiny eyes and cannot see very well. An elephant's big ears, however, are great for
hearing. An elephant can hear some sounds that are more than a mile away. Elephants "talk" to each
other. They make low, rumbling sounds that can be heard faraway. They also make loud trumpeting
sounds to warn or to greet elephants nearby.
WHY DO ELEPHANTS HAVE TUSKS?
Elephants have tusks because they sometimes need to dig for food. They stick their tusks in the ground
and dig up tasty roots. They use their tusks to rip yummy bark off of trees.
Elephants also use their tusks for fighting. Male elephants fight each other for female mates. Female
African elephants use their tusks to protect their babies from lions and tigers.
HOW DO AFRICAN ELEPHANTS DIFFER FROM ASIAN ELEPHANTS?
African elephants are bigger than Asian elephants. African elephant bulls (males) can be 13 feet (4
meters) tall and weigh 15,400 pounds (7,000 kilograms). The average Asian bull stands 10 feet (3
meters) tall and weighs less than half as much as a male African elephant. Female African and Asian
elephants are smaller than the males. African elephants also have bigger tusks than Asian elephants.
African elephants are light gray. Sometimes they take mud baths that turn their skin red or brown. Asian
elephants are dark gray.
African elephants have bigger ears than Asian elephants. Elephants can't sweat, so they flap their big
ears to get rid of body heat. African elephants may have bigger ears because they evolved in a hotter
climate than did the Asian elephants.
DO ELEPHANTS LIVE IN FAMILIES?
Male and female elephants only come together to mate. But female elephants live together in families.
Families are made up of young elephants and their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. The oldest
female heads the family. Males leave the family when they are about six years old. Adult males live
alone or in herds with other males.
An elephant cow (female) is pregnant for 20 to 22 months. This pregnancy is the longest for any animal.
Cows only have one calf (baby elephant) at a time. The other cows in the family help raise the calf.
A calf nurses on its mother's milk until it is three or four years old. By age ten, a calf can weigh 2,000 to
3,000 pounds (900 to 1,300 kilograms). Unlike other mammals, elephants continue to grow slowly
throughout life. Elephants can live to be more than 60 years old.
ARE ELEPHANTS ENDANGERED?
African and Asian elephants are now endangered species. People killed elephants for their ivory tusks.
People destroyed the forests and grasslands where elephants lived. In the early 1900s, there were
between 5 million and 10 million elephants living in the wild. By 1979, there were only 1.3 million.
Another 600,000 African elephants were killed for their ivory tusks between 1979 and 1989. In 1989,
many countries banned ivory sales and took other steps to protect elephants. Despite these steps, only
about 400,000 to 500,000 elephants live in the wild today.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Elephants.
What if you had to ride an elephant to school? An elephant is huge. You have to climb up on a
platform to get on an elephant's back. You might sit on the elephant's neck and hold on with
your legs. You might sit on a seat on the elephant's back. People in Asia once rode elephants for
transportation. They rode elephants into battle. They trained these intelligent animals to haul
logs and do other work.
Elephants live in Africa and parts of Asia. They are the biggest animals alive today. Elephants
have long trunks. The trunk is made of the elephant's nose and upper lip. An elephant has two
big tusks, one on each side of its mouth. The tusks are made of ivory.
WHY DO ELEPHANTS HAVE TRUNKS?
An elephant uses its trunk like a hand. It breaks off branches from trees and shrubs with its trunk. It
brings food to its mouth with its trunk. Elephants eat leaves, twigs, flowers, grass, and other plants.
An elephant drinks with its trunk. The trunk sucks up water from a stream or water hole. Then the
elephant squirts the water into its mouth.
An elephant uses its trunk to take a shower. The elephant squirts water from its trunk over its thick,
wrinkled skin. Sometimes an elephant wades into water over its head. Then the underwater elephant
sticks its trunk above the water like a snorkel and breathes in air.
Elephants also use their trunks for smelling odors nearby and faraway. The trunk goes up and sniffs the
air for faint smells. Then the elephant sticks its trunk in its mouth and "tastes" the faint odor.
Elephants have tiny eyes and cannot see very well. An elephant's big ears, however, are great for
hearing. An elephant can hear some sounds that are more than a mile away. Elephants "talk" to each
other. They make low, rumbling sounds that can be heard faraway. They also make loud trumpeting
sounds to warn or to greet elephants nearby.
WHY DO ELEPHANTS HAVE TUSKS?
Elephants have tusks because they sometimes need to dig for food. They stick their tusks in the ground
and dig up tasty roots. They use their tusks to rip yummy bark off of trees.
Elephants also use their tusks for fighting. Male elephants fight each other for female mates. Female
African elephants use their tusks to protect their babies from lions and tigers.
HOW DO AFRICAN ELEPHANTS DIFFER FROM ASIAN ELEPHANTS?
African elephants are bigger than Asian elephants. African elephant bulls (males) can be 13 feet (4
meters) tall and weigh 15,400 pounds (7,000 kilograms). The average Asian bull stands 10 feet (3
meters) tall and weighs less than half as much as a male African elephant. Female African and Asian
elephants are smaller than the males. African elephants also have bigger tusks than Asian elephants.
African elephants are light gray. Sometimes they take mud baths that turn their skin red or brown. Asian
elephants are dark gray.
African elephants have bigger ears than Asian elephants. Elephants can't sweat, so they flap their big
ears to get rid of body heat. African elephants may have bigger ears because they evolved in a hotter
climate than did the Asian elephants.
DO ELEPHANTS LIVE IN FAMILIES?
Male and female elephants only come together to mate. But female elephants live together in families.
Families are made up of young elephants and their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. The oldest
female heads the family. Males leave the family when they are about six years old. Adult males live
alone or in herds with other males.
An elephant cow (female) is pregnant for 20 to 22 months. This pregnancy is the longest for any animal.
Cows only have one calf (baby elephant) at a time. The other cows in the family help raise the calf.
A calf nurses on its mother's milk until it is three or four years old. By age ten, a calf can weigh 2,000 to
3,000 pounds (900 to 1,300 kilograms). Unlike other mammals, elephants continue to grow slowly
throughout life. Elephants can live to be more than 60 years old.
ARE ELEPHANTS ENDANGERED?
African and Asian elephants are now endangered species. People killed elephants for their ivory tusks.
People destroyed the forests and grasslands where elephants lived. In the early 1900s, there were
between 5 million and 10 million elephants living in the wild. By 1979, there were only 1.3 million.
Another 600,000 African elephants were killed for their ivory tusks between 1979 and 1989. In 1989,
many countries banned ivory sales and took other steps to protect elephants. Despite these steps, only
about 400,000 to 500,000 elephants live in the wild today.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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