Presumably, many people are more interested in popular science knowledge about elephants. So today we will share with you some knowledge about elephants.

The first thing an elephant feels is "big". They are the largest living mammals on land. Some elephants can reach a height of 4 meters, and the largest recorded elephant exceeds 10 tons. Adult elephants can eat up to 150 kilograms of food per day.

There are currently two kinds of elephants living on the earth - African elephants and Asian elephants, among which African elephants include African grassland elephants and African forest elephants. Elephants have a long lifespan, generally reaching 60 to 70 years old.

The elephant has a burly figure, thick limbs, a long nose and big fan-like ears. They like to live in groups in jungles, grasslands and river valleys and are the largest land animals in the world. The ancestors of elephants appeared on the earth tens of millions of years ago.

The elephant family was once very prosperous and was one of the most dominant animal groups on the earth. More than 400 fossils have been discovered so far.

Elephants have a good memory and can predict the weather. They have a keen sense of hearing and can detect extremely low sound frequencies, so they can hear small thunder and heavy rain in the distance, and predict when the rain is coming, so they can change their course.

Elephants have one of the best memories in nature, with high IQ and cognitive abilities. Excellent memory helps elephants migrate and forage. They can remember the location of water sources and food, and they are more adaptable to the environment.

At the same time, based on this high IQ and cognitive ability, if an elephant is abused in its infancy, this memory may accompany it for a long time and have a great impact on its life.

Elephants are very large and can weigh several tons. But their way of walking is very special, it is a typical hoofed animal, and they walk on their toes.

So asking them to perform difficult movements such as handstands or standing on two feet will put a lot of stimulation and pressure on their feet. Over time, it may induce foot inflammation.

Elephants are non-jumping mammals, and elephant feet have as many bones as other mammals, but with fewer spaces between the bones. Compared with other mammals, elephants have less flexible feet, lacking the elastic structure needed to jump off the ground. Therefore, although an elephant can walk faster than a man, it cannot run or jump.

Elephants also get sunburned. They don't have sunscreen. Elephants' skin is about 3 centimetres thick, but it is very sensitive to sunlight. Therefore, elephants like to bathe in mud. They cover their bodies with mud and dirt, which acts like sunscreen to protect their skin.

Due to global climate change, human activities in some areas, especially poaching, and the number of elephants are rapidly decreasing. The Asian and African savannah elephants are listed as endangered by the IUCN, while the African forest elephant is critically endangered.

August 12th is World Elephant Day. Animal protection organizations and people of insight use various activities during the annual World Elephant Day to call on people to strengthen awareness and actions to protect elephants.