An adult African elephant can weigh as much as six or seven cars put together, and its ears are so large they can be as wide as a small bed. Those big ears are not just for hearing — they are full of blood vessels, and when the elephant flaps them it cools the blood and helps the whole animal stay comfortable in the heat.
Elephants use their trunks for almost everything: drinking, eating, smelling, greeting friends, giving themselves a mud bath, and even making deep rumbling sounds that other elephants can feel through the ground from kilometres away. A trunk has about 40,000 muscles — more than a human has in their entire body.
Baby elephants are looked after by the whole herd, not just their mothers. Aunties, sisters and older cousins all play a part in keeping a calf safe, teaching it where to find food, and helping it stand up when it stumbles. Young elephants can even be seen playing games, chasing each other and splashing in muddy pools — very much like young children.