The Asian elephant is smaller than the African elephant and has smaller ears, a humped back, and only one finger-like projection at the end of its trunk. Ivory tusks, which protrude from the upper jaw, are found on both sexes of the African elephant, but only on male Asian elephants. The elephant's trunk is extremely powerful, yet it can pick up a bird's nest without dropping or breaking the eggs. The trunk is used for smelling, for touching, for picking up food, and for sucking up water to blow into its mouth for a drink. Extremely intelligent, elephants can be trained to respond to up to 30 different commands.
Elephants live in both the grasslands and the forests of Africa and Asia.
Elephants in the wild eat enormous amounts of plants, grass, tree branches, and bark. A herd of elephants can strip a forest area bare in no time. This is their major conservation problem.