Elephants are one of the most favorite animals to children (and many adults as well) They are the largest living land animal in the world. Here are some other interesting facts about them.
Elephants are the only other animals besides humans who mourn for their dead. They will visit the bones of friends who have died.
That old saying that an elephant never forgets is true. Research has shown that an elephant’s memory is much longer than that of any other animal. Elephants that are friends with each other and then separated for many years, when brought together again, show incredible happiness and love at the reunion.
Elephants can communicate with voice calls that are beyond human hearing. They can have complex sounds that warn of danger. They also communicate through the use of auditory and visual signals.
A male African elephant named Koshik is able to imitate human speech in his native Korea.
It is believed that the demise os both mastodons and mammoths was caused by overhunting.
Our magnificent elephants today are in danger of extinction due to illegal hunting for their ivory tusks. If the demand for ivory is stopped by putting laws into place that deny importing ivory, these incredible creatures who have aided humans in many ways, will continue to amaze us with their special abilities for a long time to come.
