Being large opens up a whole new world of advantages: it deters predators and when food resources and water are scarce, a large body can store more fat and water, and a larger gut can digest food more efficiently. We found that brain size co-evolved tightly with body size in the elephantine lineage.

Parks with most fared best, with each elephant calculated to increase the number of tourist visits nearly five-fold. And then there's the average amount each visitor spends in and around the area on top of that. This adds up to around us$25 million per year – money lost should elephants disappear.

Why they matter. Forest elephants are found in dense forests and are essential for the germination of many rain forest trees. The seeds of these trees only germinate after passing through the elephant's digestive tract.

Elephants help maintain forest and savanna ecosystems for other species and are integrally tied to rich biodiversity. Elephants are important ecosystem engineers. They make pathways in dense forested habitat that allow passage for other animals.

Elephants are social animals who tend to live in large groups. They are known for their ability to stay within “family” groups for the duration of their lives, and never stray far from their own mothers.

Given their tremendous size and strength, and because they gather in groups, elephants have few predators to worry about. Lions, hyenas, and crocodiles may attempt to prey on young or sick elephants.

Mud baths are an all-time favorite of elephants. They not only romp and play with their friends in mud baths, they also enjoy the cooling sensation and relief that mud provides from the very hot temperatures of africa and asia, their native homelands.

Keep in mind that an elephant is not a pet, they're not bred to crave human affection like a domesticated dog (or, when it's in a good mood, a cat). That being said, individual preferences vary from elephant to elephant. Some love a scratch under the chin, others like a nice back rub.

There are three species of savanna (bush), african forest and . The ears of african elephants are much larger than their cousins and are described as being shaped like the african continent, whereas the ears of asian elephants are shaped like the indian subcontinent.

Giraffes and elephants are both herbivorous creatures that live in the same parts of africa. Although both creatures are herbivorous and relatively peaceful, they're both well-equipped to ward off threats from predators.

Elephants' acts of empathy, selflessness and condolences unveil them as a species with inclinations similar to what our human heroes, such as firefighters, emts and social workers, face every day. Help and comfort other members of their herds when they are in distress.

Elephants are able to differentiate between ethnicities and genders, and can tell an adult from a child - all from the sound of a human voice. This is according to a study in which researchers played voice recordings to wild african elephants. The animals showed more fear when they heard the voices of adult masai men.

Just like humans, elephants also can be empathetic. It has been recorded that elephants are one of the world's most empathetic animals. Empathy means that one can sense others' emotions and understand what they are feeling. Elephants have been known to recognize and respond to other elephants' pain and sadness.

True! Elephants are the largest land mammals on earth and have quite the memory to go along with their massive size. While the old saying may be exaggerated, it's more true than not. An elephant's memory is key to its survival and, sometimes, its herd's.

Here's what we know. Elephants have arguably one of the most intelligent brains in the animal kingdom. On average, an elephant's brain is three times larger than a human's brain and has more neurons than humans do — 257 million fibers to humans' mere 86 million.

Amato notes strong parallels between giraffes and african elephants, which were classified as a single species until a 2010 study provided genetic evidence that there were actually two: forest elephants (loxodonta cyclotis)and savannah elephants (loxodonta africana.