There are two kinds of elephants, the Indian and African elephant. The African elephant is the larger of the two and so is therefore the largest land mammal. The male elephant is three to three and a half meters in length from the head to the posterior, and it weighs about six tones. The most outstanding feature of the African elephant's appearance is its pair of beautiful ivory tusks which are rested on either side of its trunk. Its tusks will continue to grow throughout its whole life.

Long ago the elephants would grow tusks that are up to three and three quarters and could weigh up to forty one kilograms. Now an elephant that has tusks that are over two meters long is considered good and lucky. The elephant also has a trunk that it uses to senses things and as a tool. The trunk is very flexible.

The female only measures two and three quarters at the shoulder and her tusks are smaller than that of the males. Female elephants have a gestation period of twenty-two months. The calf that she will give birth to will be hairy and weigh about ninety kilograms. The young elephants stay with their mothers for a good number of years after birth.

Elephants are probably one of the most dangerous animals on land, especially during injury. They are agitated very easily, and therefore they become infuriated for no reason. They are also believed to live for fifty to seventy years and experience their first stages of puberty at thirteen years.

Elephants once occupied the tropical forests, deserts, coastlines, high mountains, grasslands and woodlands. Today they occupy less than 5.2 million square kilometers of land, of which approximately 50% of it is in central Africa, 21% in east Africa, 25% in South Africa and 4% in west Africa. 76% of all elephants live outside the boundaries of conservation areas.

The approximation of the numbers of individuals living is, in 1930, five to ten million, in 1979, about 1.3 million, in 1992, about six hundred thousand and in 1991, between five hundred and forty-nine thousand and six hundred and fifty-two.