and drinks up to 50 gallons of water daily.
             Elephants must consume these giant quantities of food, due to their poor digestive
             system. The small intestine is 82 feet long, the large intestine 21 feet long, and the
             rectum adds a further 13 feet. The problem with the digestive tract lies in their gut;
             elephants have too few symbiotic bacteria. These are the organisms which help break
             down the cellulose of plant cell walls by producing enzymes called cellulases. The
             most remarkable feature of the elephant's digestive system is its 5 feet long appendix,
             bigger than the stomach. Proteins, starches, and sugars are digested in the appendix.
             The elephant will excrete almost 200 pounds a day of semi-digested food.
             Elephants live together in strong family units which might have as few as two or
             as many as twenty members. When the group gets too big, it splits up; but the groups
             stay in close contact. Elephant life revolves around this unit which is usually headed
             by the oldest female. The family offers protection, aid, comfort, and teaching to all of
             its members. Within the units are cows, calves, and bulls. The male bulls are very
             solitary and most of the time travel only with other males, except during mating season
             ...