Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Elephant
Earth’s largest land animal is the elephant. These spectacular creatures have thick wide legs, large floppy ears and of course their trademark long trunk and tusks. There are two species of elephants that live on separate continents (African and Asian elephants) and both have many unique features. There are also a number of sub species that can trace their lineage back to either one of these two main species, though experts tend to disagree over just how many sub species there are. If you are fascinated by these magnificent creatures, here is everything you could ever want to know about the elephant.
Just how big do elephants get?
- African elephants are larger than Asian elephants.
- The African elephant grows anywhere between 8.2 to 13 feet (2.5 to 4 metres).
- African elephants weigh between 357 to 1,000 stone (2,268 to 6,350 kilograms).
- Asian elephants can grow up to 6.6 to 9.8 feet (2 to 3 metres).
- Asian elephants weigh up to 785 stone (4,990 kilograms).
Where do they live and what do they eat?
You can find the Africa elephant primarily in sub-Saharan Africa but they also live in the rain forests of West and Central Africa as well as in the Sahel desert in Mali. Asian elephants live in the scrub and rain forests of South-East Asia, India and Nepal. The elephant likes to eat bark, fruit, roots and grasses. Elephants use their tusks to dig roots out from under the ground and pull bark from trees. An animal as large as the elephant has to eat a lot and according to National Geographic an adult elephant eats approximately 136 kg of food every day.
Elephants have complex social rules
- Elephants are social animals and a group of them is known as a herd.
- A herd of elephants is led by a matriarch which is usually the oldest female.
- Herds are usually made up of female elephants and their young.
- Adult males tend to be loners and wander around on their own.
- Elephants are an intelligent species and have some complex social rules.
For example did you know that when elephants meet each other they expect the other elephant to greet it with an extended trunk like a handshake? Usually the matriarch of the herd teaches younger elephants in her herd how to behave.
Elephant babies are big
Female elephants are known as cows whilst males are called bulls. After mating, elephant pregnancies last for approximately 22 months. Newly born baby elephants are big and stand about 3 feet or 1 metre tall and weigh roughly 200 lbs or 91 kg. Baby elephants are known as calves and they grow quickly, gaining about 2 to 3 lbs every day during their first year. By the time they reach between 2 to 3 years of age they are ready to be weaned and at this point male calves will go off on their own, whilst the females remain with their mothers. Females are ready to have their own babies anywhere between 13 to 20 years of age and in general the life span of an elephant is between 30 to 50 years in the wild.
Elephants need your help
The Asian elephant is endangered says the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The worrying thing is that nobody knows exactly how many Asian elephants are left either in the wild or captivity and it is believed their numbers are falling. The situation is less dire for the African elephant which the IUCN considers vulnerable. In general African elephant numbers are rising and according to the African Wildlife Foundation there are approximately 470,000 left in the wild. Despite the robust numbers of African elephant, more and more are being poached and hunted for the illegal trade in ivory. One of the worst sights to see is the carcass of an elephant with its tusks taken. You can help to protect the elephant from the ravages of the illegal wildlife trade by adopting an one for as little as £3 month. Help with the conservation effort by adopting an elephant today.