A female elephant remains standing during birth, so the calf drops to the ground when it’s born. The calf is still inside the amniotic sac, which gives it some cushion as it lands on the ground.

Elephants seem easy to figure out with their big bodies, long trunks, and always walking in slow groups. But they’re not simple animals. Behind the usual facts are habits, abilities, and ...

Elephants eat most of the day, and these gentle giants eat 330 to 440 lbs of food daily. So it isn’t surprising that up to 220 lbs (100 kg) of dung can be produced in a single day by an adult ...

Elephants were found to gesture intentionally when they wanted humans to give them apples. This trait was thought to exist mainly in primates.

No surprise that’s it’s so tricky: That trunk has more than 40,000 muscles in it. • Mama elephants have it rough. Their pregnancies last 22 months, longer than any other land animal.

Elephant waste can even be taken as a painkiller. It is reported that simply breathing in the smoke from burning elephant dung will relieve toothaches, migraines, nose bleeds, and congested sinuses.

Mabu, left, a male African elephant greets Semba, a female, as the two pass by one another while grazing in the Reid Park Zoo's new Expedition Tanzania exhibit, Tues. Mar. 20, 2012.