http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReNavhcXUYk

And they have a better maternal instinct than some human mothers.

It's a pity some humans can't be as caring at times....

Elephants most certainly aren't dumb. Hannibal Barca proved that over 2,000 years ago.

You are correct sir! In addition to being intelligent they're also super-trample-death-machines when they need to be

I cared for an elephant in our local zoo for several years and she always surprised me with her gentle nature, curiosity, and power. She did seem concerned that I was handicapped by lacking a trunk and would check out my nose, just to make certain it worked.

Unfortunately they also tend to be somewhat indescriminate when in that mode, which is why the use of elephants in combat fell out of favor pretty quickly.

Note that Hannibal used african elephants (though some speculate
it may have been a "lost" subspecies), and no one trains african
elephants now, they are regarded as too wild. There are remains
of 6'wx10'deep trenches in upper Egypt and Sudan that are suspected
to be sites where elephants were led down so that trainers could
get above them, mount saddles, and then get on them as part of
training. It is hard to believe that the great elephants of africa
are the ones that could be trained. They are huge, and not particularly
benign. Perhaps an unsolvable mystery.

Humans, they all look the same.

Yeah, the most dangerous animals on the planet.
...'Humans'...

God help the Elephants, the few that are left on this earth.

Indeed not dumb. But always animal.

I try to remember that any particular animal behavior may be arbitrary.

Beautiful facility there. Checking it out further, there's even an underwater viewing window: