Mrs. Lasher's Class Web Log

Photo Credit: © Anke van Wyk,
Shutterstock (found on World Book
for Kids)

Elephants are the biggest land animals in the world! They are also the only animals that have a trunk as a nose. Sometimes they use their trunk as a hand. An elephant’s trunk is very helpful. A mother elephant uses her trunk to pet her baby. Elephants also use their trunks to take showers. They suck water into their trunks and spray it all over their bodies.

Wild elephants spend a lot of their day eating. They can eat almost 300 pounds of plants a day! They take baths in rivers and lakes and like to roll around in muddy water. After bathing in the mud, elephants might cover themselves with dirt. The dirt helps keep them safe from insects and the sun.

Elephants have upper teeth called tusks.These tusks are made of ivory. Elephants often use their tusks to dig for food and water. They also use their tusks to fight.

Hunters have killed a lot of elephants for their ivory tusks. People have destroyed much of the elephant’s habitat by clearing land for buildings and farms. Experts know that elephants are in great danger of being extinct. They need human protection.

If you’d like to learn more about African elephants, click here.

Source of my information:
“Elephant.” World Book Kids World Book, 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.