Elephants prefer to move slowly, they can run fast, reaching speeds of up to 50 km / h. Elephants inhabit the tropical belt. The area of the African elephant extends along the equator and south to the Cape area.
Once these animals inhabited the northern part of the continent, but with the expansion of the Sahara Desert they were forced to retreat to the south. Indian elephants live on the peninsula of Hindustan and in Indochina.
Populations of the African elephant are found both in dense tropical forests and in open savannahs bordering on semi-deserts. Indian elephants are exceptionally forest inhabitants. Both kinds of elephants lead a herd life. Herds of elephants consist of females with young, headed by their old experienced elephant. Males always keep apart, joining the herd only for the time of mating.
Long-term stress can lead to a nervous breakdown and then the elephant becomes rabid. In this case, the animal completely gets out of control and attacks all living beings within reach. Stop the elephant in this case can only be a bullet. There are many cases of death of elephants and people for this reason.
