Indian Elephant

The elephant is the largest living land animal on earth. The Indian elephant ,Elephas maximus indicus, is smaller than its African counterpart. Elephants are recognized by their long nose, or trunk. They use this formidable appendage to smell, drink, eat, and manipulate objects. Only the male Indian elephant has tusks,teeth made of ivory that can measure up to 5 feet in length. The elephant uses these tusks to dig for food, clear debris, and carry logs up to 1 ton in weight. These tusks are very unique. The only other animal that has ivory tusks is the walrus.Elephants prefer thick forests with an abundant supply of food and a large amount of shade. They also like muddy areas, so they can cool off during the hot summer days.