African elephants are enormous. An adult male can weigh six tonnes — about the same as three small cars — and stand 3.5 metres tall at the shoulder. Their tusks are actually very long teeth that keep growing throughout their lives. They use their flexible trunk, which has about 40,000 muscles in it, to drink, pick up food, greet friends and even hug.
Elephants live in close families. The group is led by the oldest and wisest female, called the matriarch. She remembers where water holes are, even ones that dry up most years. When she walks towards them, the whole family follows. Young elephants are looked after by their mothers, aunts and older sisters — everyone plays a part.
Elephants are sometimes called 'ecosystem engineers' because they change the landscape around them. They knock down trees to eat the bark, which opens up the forest and lets smaller plants grow. Their dung contains seeds that sprout into new trees far from where the elephant ate. Other animals rely on the water holes elephants dig with their tusks.
Elephants talk to each other using deep rumbles that humans cannot hear — the sound is too low for our ears. These infrasound calls can travel 10 kilometres through the ground, and other elephants feel them through their feet. Elephants also use their trunks to touch and comfort each other, especially when a young elephant is frightened.