Elephants are the largest existing land animals. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. Three living species are recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant (all pictured). Distinctive features of elephants include a long, flexible proboscis (trunk), long tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and grey skin. They are herbivorous, and stay near water when it is accessible. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. After reaching adulthood, males (bulls) live separately, either alone or with other males. Elephants communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound. Threats to their populations include poaching for their ivory tusks, habitat destruction, and conflicts with local people. Elephants are iconic in human culture and have been featured in art, folklore, religion, literature, and popular culture.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1952:

Thirteen Jewish poets were executed in Moscow for espionage based on false confessions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Murdered_Poets

1969:

The Troubles: Riots erupted in the neighbourhood of Bogside in Derry, and spread across much of Northern Ireland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Northern_Ireland_riots

1985:

Japan Air Lines Flight 123 crashed into Mount Takamagahara in Gunma Prefecture, killing 520 of 524 people on board in the world's worst single-aircraft aviation disaster. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Air_Lines_Flight_123

1990:

Near Faith, South Dakota, American paleontologist Sue Hendrickson found one of the most complete discovered Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons, nicknamed Sue (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_%28dinosaur%29

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

kangaroo court: (originally US, idiomatic) A judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding, or a group of people which conducts such proceedings, which is without proper authority, and often acts abusively or decides unjustly. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kangaroo_court

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Multiplicity is only apparent, in truth, there is only one mind.   --Erwin Schrödinger https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erwin_Schr%C3%B6dinger