There are three kinds of elephants. Two are African. One is Asian. The African kinds are the savanna elephant and the forest elephant. The other is the Asian elephant. African elephants are the largest animals that live on land.

Let's look at the trunk. A trunk is a long nose. It is also the upper lip. A trunk has no bones in it. An African elephant has two finger-like tips on the end of its trunk. An Asian elephant has one.

You may have heard that an elephant drinks through its trunk like a straw. It does not. It sucks water part of the way up. Then it curls the trunk toward its mouth. Last, it pours the water in.

Elephants have gray, wrinkly skin. In places it can be up to about 1 inch thick. That is about 2.5 centimeters. Still, the skin is sensitive to touch. Elephants cover themselves with mud, dust or water. This protects their skin from the sun and from biting insects.

Let's look at what elephants eat and what they dig with. Elephants eat plants such as grass, fruit, leaves, roots and bark. A tusk is a long front tooth. It keeps growing. Elephants use their tusks to dig for water and food.

Elephants live in family groups called herds. An African herd is led by an older female. She is called the matriarch. Other members of the herd help look after calves. Adult male elephants are called bulls. Bulls tend to live alone or in small groups of other males.

An elephant mother carries her calf for about 22 months. Then the calf is born. A newborn calf stands about 3 feet tall. That is about 1 meter. When a predator comes near, the herd clumps together. This protects the young.

Let's meet some relatives of the elephant. Woolly mammoths were relatives of today's elephants. They lived in the Ice Age. They are extinct. A woolly mammoth was covered in long, shaggy hair. The hair kept it warm.

Words to know

• trunk: long nose
• tusk: long front tooth
• matriarch: lead female
• bulls: adult male elephants
• extinct: gone forever