Number 89 Addo Elephant

The elephants (Elephantidae) are a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia. Elephantidae has three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant (until recently known collectively as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, the Mammoth being the most famous of these.
Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kg (265 lb). An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. It was male and weighed about 12,000 kg (26,400 lb),[1] with a shoulder height of 4.2m (13.8 ft), a meter (3 ft 4 in) taller than the average male African elephant.[2] The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric variant that lived on the island of Crete until 5000 BC, possibly 3000 BC.
Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their exceptional memory and high intelligence, rivalled only by cetaceans and hominids.
Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion. Between 1970 and 1989, the African elephant population plunged from 1.3 million to about 600,000 in 1989; the current population is estimated to be between 400,000 and 660,000.[3] The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory. Elephants generally have no natural predators, although a pride of 32 specialized lions in Savuti, Chobe National Park, prey on juvenile and early adult elephants at night.With a mass just over 5kg, elephant brains are larger than those of any land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twentyfold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's. A wide variety of behavior, including those associated with grief, art, play, use of tools, compassion, self-awareness and the best memory in the entire animal kingdom (far better than human memory capacity), evidence a highly intelligent species rivaled only by dolphins and primates.[16].
The largest areas in elephant brain are those responsible for hearing, smell and movement coordination, and a large portion of the brain has to do with trunk management and sensitivity.
Increased out of any comparative proportion, the temporal lobe, responsible for processing of audio information, hearing and language, is relatively far greater than that of dolphins (which use elaborate echolocation) and humans (who use language and symbols).

The first sound a newborn calf usually makes is a sneezing or snorting sound to clear its nasal passages of fluids. (In the first few minutes after a captive birth, the keepers must monitor the calf closely for the first sound or movement. Whichever happens first, the mother typically responds to her new baby with surprise and excitement.)
With the help of its mother, a newborn calf usually struggles to its feet within 30 minutes of birth. For support, it will often lean on its mother's legs.
A newborn calf usually stands within one hour and is strong enough to follow its mother in a slow-moving herd within a few days.
Unlike most mammals, female elephants have a single pair of mammary glands located just behind the front legs. When born, a calf is about 3 ft (90 cm) high, just tall enough to reach its mother's nipples.
A calf suckles with its mouth, not its trunk, which has no muscle tone. To clear the way to its mouth so it can suckle, the calf will flop its trunk onto its forehead.
A newborn calf suckles for only a few minutes at a time but will suckle many times per day, consuming up to 11 litres (3 gallons) of milk in a single day.
A calf may nurse for up to 2 years of age or older. Complete weaning depends on the disposition of the mother, the amount of available milk, and the arrival of another calf.
Newborn calves learn primarily by observing adults, not from instinct. For example, a calf learns how to use its trunk by watching older elephants using their trunks.
It takes several months for a calf to control the use of its trunk. This can be observed as the calf trips over its trunk or as the trunk wiggles like a rubbery object when the calf shakes its head.