This page contains African elephant facts and information. (Until recently, scientists considered Bush Elephants and Forest Elephants to be subspecies, rather than separate species in their own right. Animal researchers believe that the loss of older females is particularly acute, as it impacts the social networks of elephant herds. Habitat loss and fragmentation has become the biggest threat, along with poaching, to the continuing survival of the African elephant. Males will also use their tusks during fights with other males.You can get an idea just how big and powerful African elephants are in the video below:No big surprise, but African elephants can be found wandering their way through 37 African countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the rain forests of central and west Africa. Females (cows) generally have a single calf every 2 to 4 years. They eat fruit, grasses, bark and roots in huge quantities, consuming up to 300 pounds (136 kilograms) per day. Diana Robinson Photography/Moment/Getty Images,There are two subspecies of African elephant: savanna or bush elephant (,Elephants have a number of adaptations that help them to survive. In the wild.African elephants are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Current data suggests, there is an estimated 450,000-650,000 African elephants and between 25,600-32,750 wild Asian elephants. They can weigh as much as 14,000 pounds (6,350 kilograms).There are two species of African elephant: the African Bush (or Savanna) elephant and the African Forest Elephant. African elephants primarily feed on vegetation including leaves, buds, fruits, roots, bark, grasses, and branches. Female elephants reach sexual maturity at about 11 years of age; males at 20. They are adept to consume almost 450 kg of vegetation each day.Thanks for posting this. African elephants have a strong impact on the habitats they inhabit, and can help to make them suitable for other species. If you enjoy learning about this (usually) gentle giant, then visit our.African Elephants are the world’s largest land animal.
They are found in the dense forests, miombo woodlands, Sahelian scrub, mopane and deserts.These animals are herbivores. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our,Straight-Tusked Elephant (Elephas Antiquus),African Wild Dog Facts: Diet, Behavior, Habitat,African Lion Facts: Habitat, Diet, Behavior,Prehistoric Elephants: Pictures and Profiles,Rapid Population Growth in an Elephant Loxodonta Africana Population Recovering from Poaching in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.Orphaning and Natal Group Dispersal Are Associated with Social Costs in Female Elephants.African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) Amplify Browse Heterogeneity in African Savanna,Matriarchs as Repositories of Social Knowledge in African Elephants,Plant Biomass Density as an Indicator of Food Supply for Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in Waza National Park, Cameroon,Prolonged Drought Results in Starvation of African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana),Hierarchical Dominance Structure and Social Organization in African Elephants, Loxodonta Africana,A.S., Nursing, Chattahoochee Technical College. These gentle giants can be distinguished from their Indian counterparts by their huge ears. All Rights Reserved.Monarch Caterpillar Stages With Pictures & Facts,The Desert Biome: Facts, Characteristics, Types Of Desert, Life In Desert Regions,Types Of Snakes: Well-Known Snake Families & Notable Species, With Pictures & Facts,The Marine Biome: Facts, Pictures, Ecosystems, Species & Threats,Fun Facts on Elephants: Pictures & Information On Elephant Species, Family, Ecology & Conservation,Grasslands and the Grassland Biome: Facts, Pictures, Plants, Animals, Ecology & Threats.The tip of the African elephant trunk has two opposable extensions which act like fingers.Elephants are born with ‘baby tusks’ which fall out and are replaced with permanent adult tusks which grown throughout life.On average, elephants can here calls of others from 2.5 miles (4 kilometres away).Elephants care for the wounded and grieve the dead.To greet returning friends, elephants spin in circles, flap their ears and trumpet.Savanna elephants have tusks that curve, forest elephants have tusk pointing straight downward.Elephants a very wrinkly and have sparse hair across the body.African elephants can live to be 70 years old in the wild.There are more than 40,000 muscles and tendons in the elephant trunk.The scientific name of the African elephant is Loxodonta africana. They are known to consume almost 350 pounds of food every day and their scavenging can drastically change the landscape. In the 1980s, intensive hunting resulted in the loss of up to 80% of some herds, and 100,000 elephants every year. African elephants are the elephants that belong to the family of Elephantidae and the genus Loxodonta. Perhaps the best known feature of elephants are their multi-functional long trunks, which can be used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking and grabbing things.Both male and female African elephants have long upper incisor teeth which develop into ivory tusks which they can use to dig for food and water, and also strip bark from trees. They are weaned after 4 months although they may continue to take milk from the mothers as part of their diet for up to three years. The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is the largest living terrestrial animal with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to 3.96 m (13.0 ft). Young elephants are tended by the mother and other females in the matriarchal grouping.
African Elephant Habitat African elephants inhabit tropical and sub-tropical broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannahs as well as Miombo woodlands and Acacia savannahs . Significant elephant populations are now confined to well-protected areas. Gestation periods are approximately 22 months long.Newborns weigh between 200 and 250 pounds each. The exact evolutionary cause for musth is not definitively known, though research suggests that it may be linked to the assertion and reorganization of dominance.Elephants are polyandrous and polygamous; mating happens year-round, whenever females are in estrus. Both the male and female African elephants have turks.Like other elephants species, African elephants require a large amount of food to hold up their mammoth size.