Elephant - Head

Elephants have a large skull which supports the massive weight of their tusks. The size and shape of the skull helps distinguish between African and Asian elephants and between females and males. Asian elephants have a high, dome-shaped forehead while African elephants display a lower, more gently angled forehead. Heads of the males are larger in both species. Also in both species, the neck is short, making the head relatively immobile. To see behind, elephants must move their entire body; they display excited, restless behavior and turn quickly when detecting unfamiliar sounds or smells from the rear.