There are two types of elephants, the African elephant and the Indian elephant (a.k.a. Asian elephant). African elephants can be identified by their larger ears. The African elephant grows up to 10 feet tall and weighs as much as 12,000 pounds. The Indian elephant grows up to 9 feet tall, and weighs up to 8,000 pounds and is easier to identify because of its smaller ears. Most circus elephants are Indian elephants.
An elephant calf is usually born into an extended family, which includes a cohesive group of females and their young. These families are headed by an older female elephant who serves as matriarch. At 14 years of age, adult male elephants, or bulls, leave the herd rejoining females only at breeding times. The bulls either range alone or join other bull elephants in "bachelor herds".
It is the mother elephant's responsibility to provide a 250-pound newborn with milk; but, the whole herd pitches in when it comes to caretaking and protecting baby elephants from predators. The mother elephant receives help from aunts, sisters, and cousins who serve as nannies and are learning how to care for babies. Teaching a potential mother how to rear her calf is an important task, since the calves' survival depends on it. Since elephants bear young only once every few years, each baby is essential to the herd's ultimate survival.
