INTRODUCTION MEET THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT A family of African elephants gathers in a shallow river The young elephants wrestle in the mud and grab sticks with their trunks As the young elephants play the adults keep a careful watch African elephants are a kind of animal called a mammal Other kinds of animals include insects fish amphibians reptiles and birds African elephants play in the mud
African elephants are vertebrates and have warm blood just like all mammals Mammals belong to a larger group of animals called vertebrates All vertebrates have backbones Mammals are warm blooded which means they can keep their bodies warm even in cold weather All mammals have hair or fur on their bodies All mammal mothers make milk for their babies African elephants are similar to other mammals in many ways But African elephants also have traits that make them unique
