Asian elephants differ from their African cousins in that they have smaller ears, a less sloped back, only one 'finger' on their trunk, and the hind foot has 4 nails (rather than 3).
Asian elephants rank as one of the smartest animals in the world and are capable of self-recognition. They live in herds of all females and their offspring is led by an elderly female called the matriarch. The females are usually related because females never leave the group that they are born into. Males get a little too rowdy for their parents during their teenage years. These teenage years roughly coincide with ours (12-14) because elephants have a similar lifespan of about 70 years.