Elephants

Do any of you know which animal has to throw sand on its back to prevent itself from sunburn? These same animals are afraid of things that are a lot smaller than them. Well, I am talking about elephants. Today I will be informing you about the different types of elephants, their anatomy and their behavior. Elephants are the largest living land animals. There are two types of elephants, Asian elephants and Indian elephants. The African elephant is significantly larger, they weigh from 8,800- 15,000 lbs. whereas the Asian elephant can weigh from 6,600- 11,000 lbs. African elephants have larger ears, a concave back, more wrinkled skin, a sloping abdomen and two finger-like extensions at the tip of their trunks. Asian elephants have smaller ears, a convex or level back, smoother skin, a horizontal abdomen that occasionally sags in the middle and one extension at the tip of the trunk. The looped ridges on the molars are narrower in the Asian elephant while those of the African are more diamond shaped. The Asian elephant also has dorsal bumps on its head and some patches of depigmentation on its skin. In both cases, males are larger than females. Among African elephants, the forest form is smaller than savannah form. The skeleton of the elephant is made up of 326- 351 bones. The vertebrae are connected by tight joints, which limit the backbones flexibility. African elephants have 21 pairs of ribs, while Asian elephants have 19 or 20 ribs.
An elephant has many distinct features including its ears, its trunk and its skin. Elephant ears have thick bases with thin tips. The ear flaps contain numerous blood vessels called capillaries. Warm blood flows into the capillaries, helping to lose excess body heat into the environment. This occurs when the ears are still, and the animal can enhance the effect by flapping them. Elephants are capable of hearing at low frequencies. The trunk is a fusion of the nose and the upper lip. The trunk is elongated and specialized to