Elephants are the largest land animals in the world and in different situations they can get really aggressive. Here is a list of things, why you should be aware of these dangerous creatures! Subscribe for new videos: http://goo.gl/SaufF4 Elephants are the largest land animals in the world and the only surviving family of the Proboscidea order. These massive beasts can weigh as much as 15,000 pounds while standing at heights of almost 13 feet. They also have a set of unique physical features. Elephants have pillar-like legs which help them carry their massive weight and allow them to stand still for extended periods of time without consuming too much energy. Their skulls are large and very resilient, being able to withstand head-to-head collisions while protecting the brain from almost every angle. One of the elephant’s more distinctive features is its long trunk, a fusion of the upper lip and the nose. Although it's primarily used for breathing and smell, the trunk also serves other functions such as grasping objects, lifting water or making sounds. On each side of the trunk are the elephant’s two long tusks. The tusks are modified incisors in the upper jaw which never stop growing, increasing in length by 7 inches per year. The elephant can use its tusks to dig, clear paths, or as weapons in confrontations. Just like humans are right-handed or left-handed, the elephant also has a dominant tusk which it uses more than the other, usually called the master tusk. The calcified tissue of the tusks is known as ivory, which is considered very valuable and the main reason why elephants have been the subject of intense poaching throughout the years. They are also highly intelligent creatures. Some scientists believe that elephants are self-aware and that they show empathy for the dead or dying individuals in their group. Their memory is also a remarkable characteristic as they are believed to possess cognitive mapping, which allows them to remember large spaces over long periods of time. Elephants are also said to remember the mistreatment they endure at the hands of humans in places such as circuses or certain zoos. This sometimes causes them to unexpectedly lash out and attack their keepers, trainers or members of the public. There are currently two main species of elephants, the Asian Elephant and the African Elephant, which are scattered through areas in South Asia, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. They are herbivorous and often found near water in various habitats including forests, marshes, and savannahs. Female elephants, also known as ‘cows’ usually live in family groups, mainly consisting of either one female with her offspring, or ‘calves’, or several related females and their young. The ‘matriarch’, one of the older cows, is typically the leader of the group. Elephant males, known as ‘bulls’, are larger than the females and leave the group after reaching puberty to live alone or among other bulls. In the wild, these animals can live up to 70 years as the predators with which they share the environment, such as lions, hyenas (in Africa) or tigers (in Asia) typically tend to stay away from them. If predators do attack the group, they usually target the calves. There are currently around 415,000 African elephants living in the wild. Even though there is an international ban on ivory trade, it is still active in domestic markets, which is a great threat for African Elephants. Asian elephants are considered an endangered species with only 50,000 left in the wild. Even though most Asian Elephants are tusk-less, their population is affected by the rapid expansion of human farms and settlements into their environment. Other elephants can be found in zoos, man-controlled habitats or circuses. In the past elephants were considered to be a phenomenal advantage in warfare. Their sides were equipped with armor and after their tusks had grown long enough, sharp points made out of brass or iron were mounted on them. The training of war elephants included teaching them how to pin people to the ground and impale them with their tusks, grabbing soldiers and throwing them around and trampling through the enemy lines. While documenting the campaigns of Alexander the Great, historian Arrian of Nicomedia wrote about war elephants, saying, “Whenever the beasts could wheel around, they rushed forth against the ranks of infantry and demolished the phalanx of the Macedonians, dense as it was.” Male elephants enter a period of ‘musth’, which in Hindi means ‘madness’. During
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