Elephants belong to the large family of mammals and they are the largest living terrestrial mammals in the world. Elephants are known for their gigantic size and intelligence, most researchers compare their level of intelligence with that of dolphins. There are two types of elephants; Asian and African. As the name suggests African elephants are found in Africa and Asian elephants are found in Asia.

African elephants are slightly larger than Asian elephants. They are found in savannah grasslands and desert areas of sub-Saharan east and central Africa. They are also found in the rain forests of West Africa. The continents northernmost elephants are found in Malis Sahel desert. The small, nomadic herd of Mali elephants migrates in a circular route through the desert in search of water.

The Asian elephants are the smallest species of the elephants. They are found in grassy areas of South and South East Asias forests. The countries where they can be found are India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Vietnam and Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and, Nepal. Asian Elephants are endangered species and are less in number than African Elephants. In 1879 India passed an Elephant Preservation Bill that no elephant shall be killed for hunting purposes unless for self defense.