The modern-day African and Asian elephants belong to the order Proboscidea.  In the past there were some 350 members in this order, but over time the majority of the members succumbed to extinction. Today, there are only two final survivors to this order, Elephas maximus(Asian elephant) and Loxodonta africana(African elephant).  But, much like their predecessors, these two species are facing a grim future that is heading very near to another man-propelled extinction.

The word "elephant" has both Greek and Latin origins. This applies specifically to the elephant´s  scientific genus name "Elephas". In Greek linguistics, elephos represents an antlered beast or stag. The roots of the word "elephant" in latin is divided into two words; ele means arch and phant means huge. Also, the genus name Loxodonta, for the African elephant means losenge-shaped teeth for the chewing surfaces.

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