When was the last time you thought about elephants? Chances are, it’s been a while, so here are some fun facts about the world’s largest land animal.

We all know elephants have tusks, but did you know they are considered teeth? Elephant tusks are large, deeply rooted teeth of bone-like tissue. They are enlarged incisor teeth, and they are sometimes used as ivory.

Elephants are also constantly eating. They need to eat up to 150kg of food each day. Around three-quarters of their day is spent eating. They eat grass, fruits, roots, leaves, and shrubs. They can even eat bark, twigs, and wood.

Did you know elephants can’t jump? Elephants can´t spring off the ground and jump into the air. They can level buildings and knock down trees, but they´ll never get to jump rope.

Like most teenagers, they are romantic, sociable, and emotional. They can cry and actually grieve the loss of loved ones like humans do. When a loved elephant dies, they bury them by placing branches over its body and paying respects to the lost elephant. They take long, silent pauses as they pay their respects, which can last several minutes.

Lafayette students also love elephants. Junior Haleigh Brewer says, ¨I like them because they are big, and they stomp, and they are gray, and gray is a nice subtle color.¨

Sophomore Meredith Kirby also likes elephants. ¨I like them because they’re big and lumpy and they are wrinkly and really cute, and I like to imagine they are very soft, and I’d like to give it a firm handshake by its trunk.¨

Elephants truly are amazing creatures. From being empathetic to eating over three hundred pounds of food daily, they are unlike any other animal. Now you know more about them than you did before, and if they weren’t already your favorite animal, they just might be now.