The great mastodon is a distant relative of the common elephant and is linked to that creature through the woolly mammoth. It is an herbivore and is found primarily in forested areas. Its teeth are rounded and pointed and make excellent "tools" for clipping leaves, branches, and twigs though its diet also includes things such as grasses, fruits, berries, and nuts. A typical mastodon consumes 400 pounds of food and 50 gallons of water each day. Mastodons generally deplete an area of its food supply before moving on, traveling in large herds with the young in the center, surrounded by the adults of the herd.