As the world's largest land mammal, elephants have quite the commanding presence. But did you know elephants can't jump? Or that baby elephants lose their first set of teeth and tusks, just like humans? Learn about both Asian and African elephants and the threats facing these highly intelligent animals today.
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An African elephant photographed at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, ColoradoPHOTOGRAPH BY Armando babu from Arusha Tanzania
An African elephant photographed at Indianapolis Zoo in IndianaPHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO ARK
COMMON NAME: African Elephant
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Loxodonta africana
TYPE: Mammals
DIET: Herbivores
GROUP NAME: Herd
AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: Up to 70 years
SIZE: Height at the shoulder, 8.2 to 13 ft
WEIGHT: 2.5 to 7 tons
SIZE RELATIVE TO A 6-FT MAN:
IUCN RED LIST STATUS:?
Vulnerable
LC
NT
VU
EN
CR
EW
EX
LEAST CONCERNEXTINCT
CURRENT POPULATION TREND: Increasing
ABOUT THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT
African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by their larger ears that look somewhat like the continent of Africa. (Asian elephants have smaller, rounded ears.)
Trunks and Tusks
Elephant ears radiate heat to help keep these large animals cool, but sometimes the African heat is too much. Elephants are fond of water and enjoy showering by sucking water into their trunks and spraying it all over themselves. Afterwards, they often spray their skin with a protective coating of dust.
An elephant's trunk is actually a long nose used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking, and also for grabbing things—especially a potential meal. The trunk alone contains about 100,000 different muscles. African elephants have two fingerlike features on the end of their trunk that they can use to grab small items. (Asian elephants have one.)
Both male and female African elephants have tusks they use to dig for food and water and strip bark from trees. Males use the tusks to battle one another, but the ivory has also attracted violence of a far more dangerous sort.
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.
Diet
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.
These hungry animals do not sleep much, and they roam over great distances while foraging for the large quantities of food that they require to sustain their massive bodies.
Herds and Habitat
Female elephants (cows) live in family herds with their young, but adult males (bulls) tend to roam on their own.
Having a baby elephant is a serious commitment. Elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal—almost 22 months. Cows usually give birth to one calf every two to four years. At birth, elephants already weigh some 200 pounds and stand about 3 feet tall.
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.
DID YOU KNOW?
Elephants can recognize themselves—something very few animals are known to do.
WATCH: WILD ELEPHANTS “MOURN” THEIR DEADAfter the death of their matriarch, wild elephants in northern Kenya continue to visit her remains and display unique behaviours seen only in their species.
These photos were taken by Alvin YR photographers. Join now to share your images, take part in story assignments, and get helpful feedback.
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To view a caption from the photographer, click on the credit below. PHOTOGRAPH BY ARMANDO BABU, EDUCATIONAL
AFRICAN ELEPHANT
Reviewed by Educational blog
on
March 08, 2018
Rating: 5
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