In addition to mud baths, elephants also take dust baths to try to keep cool and deter insect attacks. Elephants are herbivores, or plant-eaters. They feed on grasses, fruits, leaves, branches, bark, and twigs. Because of their large size and because as much as 60 percent of what they eat passes through without being digested, elephants spend about 16 hours a day foraging for nearly 350 pounds of food. In addition, they drink about 18 gallons of water each day.
Elephants are very social animals.
The herd works together to take care of the calves and to signal the others of danger. When a member of the herd dies, the other elephants may cover it with twigs and leaves and mourn their loss by staying at the gravesite for hours. Some males, or bulls, form bachelor herds, joining the females only to mate, while other bulls are loners. The elephant's lifespan is up to 60 years. Elephants do not mate until they are about 15 years old, and usually give birth every 4 years.