My favorite animal

The elephant is the animal that leads my list of favorite animals. Since I was little I liked “Dumbo” and programs about the herds of elephants that transmitted on the channel Animal Planet.
The elephants are the largest land mammals. They fed almost exclusively of herbs, barks of trees and shrubs, have large ears and its main function is thermoregulation of the animal, can live up to 60-70 years of age. It is the mammal with the longest gestation period, 22 months and weighing 115 kg at birth. All these things I knew from some cultural programs, but the most interesting and I learned from my mother, is that the herd is always led by a female the "matriarch".
There are some facts and myths about these animals, many people think that elephants are afraid of mice, but what happens is that elephants have poor vision: his eyes are on the sides of the head, which makes a clear distinction can not be anything small that moves before them. This makes it withstand the surprises or sudden movements when approaching a mouse a bit nervous and aggressive.
It is generally related to the elephant with a good memory, and studies by the University of Sussex in Kenya is confirmed. Studying elephant communication between researchers concluded that these animals were able to recognize the call of over a hundred different individuals.
Other studies confirmed the ability of elephants to recognize the remains of bodies of the same species, with particular attention to those for members of their herd, apparently distinguished by smell. When confronted with these remains appear to pay particular tribute posthumously, touching them with their horns and hooves. However, with bones of other species is total indifference. I love elephants and I would love to help in its conservation because of the constants threats that this species is found.