Elephants (like the African Elephant pictured here) are gregarious, intelligent beasts, descended from a long and noble line of titanic creatures (search for Platybelodon, Anancus and Deinotherium to see some extinct forms). They have language, a body of cultural rituals that include mourning, tool-use, and vocal learning, and they cooperate to solve problems. These are all qualities that humans often ascribe to themselves alone.
In the face of the despicable ivory trade and encroachment on their territories by hungry human hordes, their numbers continue to dwindle. Elephants don't have opposable thumbs, but they do have trunks, long memories, and a taste for vengeance.
This image was created by hand from cut-paper and rubylith.
