Story 23. The Gentle Giant
You probably already know that elephants are the largest land animals.
Some people think that, next to humans, elephants are the smartest creatures on Earth.
In some ways, they are just like us.
They live in groups to be about the same age as a human.
The oldest elephant was 82 years old.
Just how big can elephants get?
Well, there was once a male elephant that weighed 11,000 kilograms.
That's as much as 10 cars.
Elephants have been known to knock down trees and carry them out of forests.
There are even reports of elephants pushing trains off of tracks.
But for all their size and strength, elephants can be very gentle.
And any creature that's as big as a house deserves respect.
