In the wild and in captivity, the two species do not intermingle and prefer the company of their own kind. The ears of both elephant types resemble the shapes of the continents on which they are found. Elephants were widespread in North America until the Ice Age, when they suddenly disappeared. In 1796, Kandi, an Asian elephant from India, arrived in the United States aboard the ship America and became the first elephant to enter North America in 10,000 years.
Elephants are clean animals.
They bathe regularly when possible and take mud or dirt baths when water is unavailable. An elephant's hide can be more than 1 inch thick. Ninety different tree species in Africa depend on elephants to prosper. Because their digestive tracts are fairly inefficient, elephants must consume up to 600 pounds of food and 75 gallons of water each day. Elephants go through six sets of teeth in a lifetime.