Elephants do know that they are alive as elephants also possess a level of self awareness, which includes an ability and capacity to recognize themselves when they see themselves in a mirror.
The ability to recognize themselves in the mirror is used as a marker for self recognition in animals.
Elephants have demonstrated their ability to pass the mirror test, which involves placing a mark on an animal's body and observing if they use a mirror to inspect the mark, which indicates they recognize the reflection as themselves.
Elephants are very intelligent and even more intelligent than dogs are.
Elephants are smarter than dogs as elephants demonstrate a broader range of cognitive abilities than dogs, including self awareness, tool use and even complex social structures.
Dogs are also smart and are known for their trainability and social intelligence but elephants are still more intelligent than dogs.
Elephants can also recognize themselves in mirrors, which is a trait that is shared by only a few other animals, which indicates a level of self awareness.
Elephants have also been observed using tools, like sticks to scratch themselves or even as levers to reach food with.
Elephants also live in matriarchal societies with intricate social bonds, that demonstrates empathy, cooperation and an ability to recognize and remember individuals.
Elephants also have exceptional memories, which are also crucial for navigating migration routes and finding of water sources, especially during droughts.
Elephants are also capable of cooperative problem solving and can learn complex tasks and they also demonstrate remarkable adaptability to different environments and situations, which includes adapting to human presence and elephants have also been observed mourning their dead and showing an understanding of loss and death and they are also able to communicate through a variety of different vocalizations, body language and even infrasound, which can travel long distances.
Bees are what elephants fear the most.
Elephants fear bees so much that they actually have a special alarm call to warn the herd of elephants about bees.
Elephants are also very vulnerable to bee stings, especially around their eyes and their trunks and they can also recognize the sounds and even the pheromones which are chemical signals of bees that cause them to flee.
It's also a misconception that elephants are afraid of mice, but in reality elephants don't fear mice.
While elephants may react to the sudden movements of a mouse, the elephant is not actually afraid of the mice and instead it's just a startled reaction that is due to surprise and not fear.
Elephants are often grey in color, although an elephants color can also vary from light grey in color to a grayish-black color.
And some African elephants might even appear to be brown or reddish after they roll in the mud.
And Asian elephants will often have patches of depigmentation, especially on their head.
Elephants are mainly known for their grey skin, but like mentioned above they can vary in color.
African elephants are more a dull, brownish-grey color.
Asian elephants are predominantly grey in color, but they can also have the patches of depigmentation which most particularly is on the head of the elephant but can also appear on the elephants ears and trunk.
Elephants often also take mud baths and roll in mud, which can also change the elephants apparent color.
And African elephants, in particular, may also appear to be reddish or brown after they wallow in the colored mud.
Elephants are also covered in sparse, bristly hairs, which can also affect the elephants overall appearance.
And the specific shade of grey color of elephants can also vary depending on the individual elephant and their environment.