There are three types of elephants in the world. In addition to the Asian elephant in Asia, there are two types of elephants in Africa: the African forest elephant and the African savannah elephant. What we call African elephants in the traditional sense is African savanna elephants to be precise, and African forest elephants are a new species discovered only in 2010.

These three types of elephants are ranked according to size. The African savanna elephant is the tallest and can Reaching more than 3.5 meters; the Asian elephant ranks second, about 3 meters; the African forest elephant is the shortest, usually around 2.5 meters. Pygmy elephants, a subspecies of Asian elephants, are also distributed in Malaysian Borneo, with a body size of about 2 meters.

Asian elephants and African elephants are easier to distinguish in appearance. The ears of Asian elephants are smaller and droopier, and there are two protrusions on the top of the head when viewed from the front. They are often jokingly called two "wisdom tumors"; while the ears of African elephants are even larger than the face and harder. When viewed from the front, the forehead is Flat, no bumps. Secondly, only male Asian elephants have long tusks, while both male and female African elephants have long tusks.

The trunks of Asian elephants and African elephants are also different. There is a finger-like protrusion at the end of the elephant's trunk, called a nose finger, which can perform more delicate work, such as picking up a pen. Asian elephants have only one trunk finger, while African elephants have two. Another difference is their toes. The toes of Asian elephants and African forest elephants are arranged with 5 in the front and 4 in the back, while the African savanna elephant has 4 in the front and 3 in the back.

As for the two African elephants, the differences between them are relatively small. Before 2010, the academic community regarded these two elephants as one kind. It was not until relevant research that year that African elephants were divided into two types. The African savanna elephant lives in the tropical savanna, and the African forest elephant lives in the West African rainforest. In appearance, the forest elephant's ears are more pointed and the tusks are straighter; the grassland elephant's ears are more rounded and the tusks are more curved.

For African elephants, ivory trade and hunting remain the main causes of population decline. But for Asian elephants, human destruction of their habitat has surpassed hunting as the main reason affecting their survival.