Elephants are the largest land animals alive today. African elephants live in family groups(call) herds (群). All of the elephants in the herd take careeach other. The leader of the herd is an old mother elephant. She is the matriarch (女族长). A herd may have as(few) as eight or as many as 100 elephants. The other(elephant) follow the matriarchshe knows how to keep them safe.
Elephants learn by(watch) and copying other elephants, and also learn from life. Baby elephants stay with their mothers until they are(full) grown at about ten years old. Elephants live to be 50 or 60 years old. Elephants are smart animals with strong memories. In the dry season, a matriarch can rememberwater was found in the past. The herd will follow her there. She can also remember the safest place for baby elephants to cross a fast-moving river.
Elephants talk to each other with rumbling sounds. Some rumbling sounds are so low and(deeply). Elephants hear sounds not only with their ears, but also with their feet, and even trunks (long noses of the elephants). They also greet each other by touching with their trunks and feet. If(dangerous) appears, mothers beat their ears to call their babies.
