African elephants are the world's largest and most iconic of all land animals. The biggest can be up to 7.5m long, 3.3m high at the shoulder, and 6 tonnes in weight. The tusks are large modified incisors that grow throughout an elephant's lifetime. Although they are one of the elephants most distinguishing features they are also the main reason for their continued demise as thousands are slaughtered each year to satisfy the illegal ivory trade.
The trunk is an extension of the upper lip and nose and is used for communication and handling objects, including food. You can see from the meeting of the two giants in this drawing that this pair are either related or well known to each other as they display their obvious pleasure in greeting each other, a common scene in most elephant family groups.
