Asian or African?

There are two main kinds of elephants - the Asian (Elephas maximus ) and the African (Loxodonta africana ).

The African elephant is the largest land animal in the world and can reach heights of 12 feet and weigh as much as 13,000 pounds (that's over 6 tons!).

Other than size, there are a few other noticeable differences between the two varieties of elephant. The smaller Asian version has a domed head, smallish ears, five toes on the front feet, four toes on the back feet, and one finger-like appendage at the end of its trunk. The larger African elephant has very big ears, a smooth forehead, much larger tusks, four toes on the front feet, three toes on the back feet, and two finger-like appendages at the end of its trunk.