These hungry animals do not sleep much, roaming great distances while foraging for the large quantities of food that they require to sustain their massive bodies. African elephants range throughout the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa and the rainforests of Central and West Africa. The small, nomadic herd of Mali elephants migrates in a circular route through the desert in search of water. An elephant can destroy an entire season of crops in a single night. A number of conservation programs work with farmers to help them protect their crops and provide compensation when an elephant does raid them.
Elephants are matriarchal , meaning they live in female-led groups. The matriarch is usually the biggest and oldest. She presides over a multi-generational herd that includes other females, called cows, and their young. Adult males, called bulls, tend to roam on their own, sometimes forming smaller, more loosely associated all-male groups. 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 pounds and stand about three feet tall. Before the Europeans began colonizing Africa, there may have been as many as 26 million elephants.
By the early 20th century, their numbers had dropped to 10 million. Hunting continued to increase. By , their numbers were down to 1.
Between and , hunting and poaching put the African elephant at risk of extinction, reducing its population by another half. In the years since, poaching has continued to threaten both species: Savanna elephants declined by 30 percent between and , while forest elephants declined by 64 percent from to as poaching worsened in Central and West Africa. In , the International Union for Conservation of Nature recognized them as separate species for the first time , listing savanna elephants as endangered and forest elephants as critically endangered.
As few as , remain today. Compounding the problem is how long it takes for elephants to reproduce. With reproduction rates hovering around 5 to 6 percent , there are simply not enough calves being born to make up for the losses from poaching. African elephants are also losing their habitat as the human population grows and people convert land for agriculture and development.
Elephants need a lot of room, so habitat destruction and fragmentation not only makes it harder for them to find food, water, and each other, but it also puts them in increased conflict with humans. The decision to recognize African elephants as two separate species is seen as an important step for conservation, as it highlights the different challenges that each species faces.
Scientists hope that the listing will bring more attention to forest elephants, which have often been overlooked by governments and donors when grouped together with more visible savanna elephants. African elephants are protected to varying degrees in all the countries of their geographic range.
There have been recent efforts to bring re-legalize the international trade in ivory, but those so far have failed. Conservation groups and governments have worked to set aside land for wildlife— including corridors that connect those protected lands.
Still, researchers believe that up to 70 percent of elephants' range is on unprotected land. To curb poaching, stopping the illegal trade is key. Advocates have launched campaigns that address both the supply side poaching and the demand side people who buy ivory. Since the ban went into effect, public demand for ivory seems to have fallen.
Facts about Elephant Size African elephants are the largest land animals in the world today. The largest African elephant ever recorded was found in Angola, rocking in at a massive 24, lb 11, kg , with a shoulder height of 3.
The average African elephant will grow to between 8. Male elephants can grow to be significantly larger than their female counterparts. Both genders grow ivory tusks, which are actually elongated incisor teeth. However, the male's tusks are longer and heavier, weighing between and pounds each. Females' tusks weigh approximately 40 pounds each. African elephants are famous for their very large ears.
Considered to be shaped much like the continent of Africa itself, the large surface area of their ears helps to keep them cool in the blazing hot African sun. Indian Elephant Facts Whilst we love and support our elephants here on the African continent, their brothers and sister in Asia also deserve our recognition. Asian or Indian elephants look different to our African species, but effectively are still the same gentle giants loved the world over. Indian elephants tend to be smaller in stature than African elephants and have adapted to live in the lush, wet and humid conditions of tropical Asia.
The shape of their heads and the size of their ears also makes Asian elephants easy to identify. African elephants have fuller, more rounded heads. The top of the head is a single dome, whereas Asian elephants have a twin-domed head with an indent in the middle.
The lower lips of the two species also differ, being long and tapered in Asian elephants and short and round in African elephants. All African elephants have tusks, whereas only some male Asian elephants have tusks, with females not having them at all.
It is said that African elephants have ears shaped like a map of Africa, whilst Asian elephants have smaller ears shaped like a map of India. Whilst this may or may not be exactly the case, Asian elephants do have smaller ears as they do not rely on bigger ears to shade them from the hot African sun.
Asian Elephants Under Threat Whilst our African elephants are most at risk from poaches and the Ivory trade in general, the greatest threat to Asian elephants is the potential loss of habitat as forests are cleared to make way for dams, tea and coffee plantations, roads, and railway lines. Frequently asked questions Where do elephants come from? There are three species of elephants in the world, and where each one can be found depends on the species.
In Africa, there are two species of elephant. The loxodonta africana African elephant lives in the African Savannah and in the Sahel desert in Mali. This is the biggest species of elephant in the world. The slightly smaller loxodonta cyclotis African elephant lives in the rainforests of Central and West Africa. The elephas maixmus species of elephant Asian elephant can be found in Nepal, India and Southeast Asia in scrub forests and rain forests.
How many elephants are there in Africa and why are African elephants endangered? There are now only an estimated , African elephants left in the wild. Less than a third of that number are now left. African Forest Elephants living in the forests of the Basin are at the greatest risk from the threat of poachers than any other species and their numbers continue to steadily decline.
Moreover, humans are responsible for huge habit loss of African elephants. As the human population in Africa increases, more and more land is converted to agriculture. A smaller habit has meant that elephants and humans are coming into contact with one another more than they did historically, and this is causing conflict. This can lead to both humans and elephants being killed in the conflict.
How much does the average elephant weigh? African elephants are the largest land animals in the world today. The average African elephant will weigh between 5, to 14, lbs. However, the largest African elephant ever recorded was found in Angola, rocking in at a massive 24, lb 11, kg. Asian elephants tend to be a smaller than their African counterparts, weighing between 4, to 11, Ibs 2, to 5, kg. How tall is an elephant?
Asian elephants are smaller and tend to reach a shoulder height of between 6. What do African elephants eat? How much does an elephant eat a day?
Elephants are gigantic animals and this means that they need to find an eat an awful lot of food. African elephants can eat as much as Ibs kg of food a day. What is elephant dung and how much does elephant poop weigh? In fact, because of this, some animals like monkeys and dung beetles actually eat elephant dung!
Our elephant friends can deposit upwards of kg of dung daily! How do elephants have sex? Female elephants are generally ready to become a mum at around years old.
A male can tell when a female is ready to mate from the chemical signs she leaves in her urine and faeces. Rumour has it that elephants mate for life. How do elephants give birth? Like other mammals, female elephants give birth to fairly developed babies via her birth canal. An elephant pregnancy lasts around 22 months, meaning that new born baby elephants are not small!
A baby elephant is called a calf and can weigh between and lbs and stand about 3 feet 1 m tall. Think of the selfies it could take, no selfie stick required. That great reach makes the elephant unique in another category as well — it is the only animals that can effectively snorkel on its own. By extending the trunk out of the water, elephants can cross bodies of water that would prove too deep for other less-equipped animals. The upper nasal cavities have chemical and olfactory sensors in the form of millions of receptor cells.
Aside from smell, the trunk is sensitive to vibrations; from the ground it can sense the rumble of faraway herds and even far-off thunder. The trunk may be most famous for its display of spray as it sucks up water to drink and splash. But just how effective of a water tool is it? It can suck up to 10 gallons of water a minute and can hold up to two gallons of water at a time! And for the record, the elephant doesn't drink directly through the trunk, yet uses it so bring water to its mouth.
Not only is the trunk used for breathing and smelling and drinking and feeding it is also used for social purposes like greetings and caresses.
From National Geographic :. Joyce Poole has been studying elephants for nearly 4 decades — and is co-founder of Elephant Voices. In conclusion, a video of a baby elephant learning to use her trunk. Because, "baby elephant learning to use her trunk. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
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