page_title: African elephant
section_title: Intelligence
hierarchical_section_title: African elephant / Behavior and ecology / Intelligence
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Elephant beim Reiben an einem Baum bei Charitsaub English: Elephant scratching on a tree at waterhole Charitsaub
context_page_description: The African elephant is a genus comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant and the smaller African forest elephant. Both are herbivores and live in groups. They have grey skin and differ in the size of their ears and tusks, and in the shape and size of their skulls.
  Both species are listed as Vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2004, and are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. Poaching for the illegal ivory trade is a threat in several range countries as well.
  Loxodonta is one of two existing genera of the family Elephantidae. The name refers to the lozenge-shaped enamel of their molar teeth. Fossil remains of Loxodonta species have been excavated in Africa, dating to the Middle Pliocene.
context_section_description: African elephants are highly intelligent. They have a very large and highly convoluted neocortex, a trait they share with humans, apes and some dolphin species. They are amongst the world's most intelligent species. With a mass of just over 5 kg (11 lb), the elephant brain is larger than that of any other terrestrial animal. The elephant's brain is similar to a human brain in terms of structure and complexity; the elephant's cortex has as many neurons as that of a human brain, suggesting convergent evolution.
  Elephants exhibit a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, mimicry, art, play, a sense of humor, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation, self-awareness, memory and possibly language. All point to a highly intelligent species that is thought to be equal with cetaceans and primates.
caption: Scratching on a tree helps to remove layers of dead skin and parasites
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