Elephants at Kapama Private Game Reserve in South Africa
© Simon Eeman/Getty Image
Trunks stick together
In honuor of Cousins Day, we’re looking at a pair of African elephants who seem to have nothing but love for each other. Elephants are matriarchal, meaning they live in female-led groups. The matriarch—usually the biggest and oldest—leads the herd that includes other females and their young, so a given herd is likely to be full of cousins.
Cousins Day is about celebrating the family bonds between first cousins and even distant ones. You probably know that your first cousins are the children of your aunts and uncles, but what about their kids? They're not your second cousins—they're your first cousins once removed (one generation removed). Your children and the children of your first cousins are second cousins. Got it?
Related Images
Bing Today Images
African bush elephants at Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya
Hippopotamus mother and baby, Chobe National Park, Botswana
Elephant family in Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Southern white rhinoceros males, Shamwari Private Game Reserve, South Africa
Herd of African elephants in Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) herd in Kaziranga National Park, Assam
Rhino mother and calf, Kaziranga National Park, Assam
Baby white rhinoceros and mother in Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, South Africa