fast - moving elephants appear to ’run’ with their front legs, but ’walk’ with their hind legs and can reach a top speed of 18 km/h (11mph). Elephants eat massive amounts of food — in the case of the African elephant, as much as 660 pounds¹ in a single day. They communicate by touch, sight, and sound; elephants use infrasound, and seismic communication over long distances.