African Elephant

African Elephant

African Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth, and they're one of the most unique-looking animals, too. With their characteristic long noses, or trunks, ivory tusks, large, floppy ears,long tail, and wide, thick legs, there is no other animal with a similar physique.

"Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, and they eat a lot of these things. An adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds of food in a single day."

"Humans; lions, wild dogs, crocodiles, and hyenas will prey on elephant calves."

Habitat

"African elephants, unlike their Asian relatives, are not easily domesticated. They range throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the rain forests of central and West Africa. The continent’s northernmost elephants are found in Mali’s Sahel desert. The small, nomadic herd of Mali elephants migrates in a circular route through the desert in search of water."

The African Elephant is currently vulnerable

"Because ivory is so valuable to some humans, many elephants have been killed for their tusks. This trade is illegal today, but it has not been completely eliminated, and some African elephant populations remain endangered."

Size

SIZE: Height at the shoulder: 8.2 to 13 feet

WEIGHT: 2.5 to 7 tons

5 Interesting Facts

"1.An African elephant is right- or left-tusked, just as people are right- or left- handed. The preferred tusk is generally the blunter and shorter one, hence this is the tusk that gets worn down by doing most of the work.

2.A female elephant gives birth only once every five years, after a gestation period of 22 months. This slow breeding rate explains why elephants devote so much care and attention to their offspring.

3.Elephants can communicate across distances of up to 5km, using low-frequency rumbles, known as infrasound. These sounds are below the limit of human hearing.

4.It is no myth that elephants ‘never forget’. These intelligent mammals possess a developed sense of memory that allows them to recognize a long-lost member of their social group. Additionally, they even grieve for dead relatives and harbor grudges against other elephants – or even people.

5.Most scientists now recognize two distinct species of African elephant: the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). The latter inhabits equatorial forest regions and is smaller in size, has more rounded ears and straighter tusks."

African Elephants live up to 60 and 70 years and Elephants are social animals who tend to live in large groups. They are known for their ability to stay within “family” groups for the duration of their lives, and never stray far from their own mothers.

Citations

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant

https://www.livescience.com/27320-elephants.html

https://pixabay.com/photos/search/african%20elephant/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/african-elephant/

https://switchzoo.com/profiles/africanelephant.htm

https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/sites/default/files/2016-09/african-elephant.jpghttp://www.colettecoleman.com/item/10-sub-saharan-africa.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-26/african-elephant/10418702

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_bush_elephant

https://www.safaribookings.com/blog/5-fascinating-facts-about-the-african-elephant

https://phys.org/news/2019-11-online-tool-response-elephant-poaching.htmlhttp://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-06-25-older-you-get-harder-you-seek-mating-secrets-africas-bull-elephants-0

https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/african-elephant