The elephant's fan-shaped ears have many small blood vessels through them, which dissipate heat from the blood. The ears can also be used as fans, to keep hot air away from the elephant. The tusks of the African elephant are actually the elephant's incisor teeth. Legs of the African elephant are columnlike, the same width from top to bottom. Its feet are round and have a pad, almost like the one on a cat's paw, to support the leg.
African elephants have five toes on the front feet and three on the back.
Siri, an Asian Elephant from Burnet Park Zoo, is a herbivore from the tropical rainforests of Asia. This is quicktime movie, so click on it to move the elephant. The African elephant's most obvious adaptation is its trunk, which is basically an elongated nose. It has many uses, such as sucking up water and spraying it back in its mouth. Its main use, however, is to allow the elephant to reach up in trees to reach the foliage, which it eats.