The elephant is the biggest four-legged animal in the world. It is friendly and seldom （很少）attacks(攻击) people, but not always!
Elephants are like us in some ways. They live for a long time ― fifty or sixty years. They can memorize （记住）things very well. They never forget great sadness or great happiness. If a female(雌性的) elephant dies, her daughters and granddaughters （孙女）are sad for many months. They stay with the dead body. Then they carry a bit of it away with them. （从遗体上取一部分带走）They never forget a dead friend.
Elephants are like us, but they are also different. They live in families of females.（家庭成员全是女的） There will be a few young males ― a few “baby boys”. But the females will soon send them away. An elephant family keeps only its daughters, mothers, and grandmothers.
The females stay together for fifty, sixty ... a hundred years. The older animals look after the younger ones. The mothers teach their daughters and set a good example.
And what happens to male elephants? Well, the young males stay with their mothers for some time. Then they must leave the family. The females just send them away. A male elephant does not often have a friend. He lives away from the family, and often away from other male elephants. Sometimes the females call a male elephant. He can visit them then, and stay for some time. But soon his “wife” and sisters send him away again. The females have a very happy family life. What do the male elephants think about it? We don’t know.