The African Elephant: A Gentle Giant

Now this is my most exciting post yet.. maybe its because its makes me feel closer to home. Truth is though..its just a privilege to write about this magnificent creature.

 Let's begin, shall we?

African Bush Elephant

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) as you may all be aware is the largest land animal on earth beating its Asian cousin by a significant margin. The male elephants weigh between 4 and 7 tonnes and are 10 to 13 feet in height while the females weigh between 2 and 4 tonnes and stand at 7-9 feet. In fact, the largest elephant that ever lived weighed about 11,000 kgs standing at 13 feet! It was however shot in Angola in 1956.

There are two sub-species of the African elephant; the African Bush elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the African Forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis). These species are brownish grey in colour and are found in 37 countries in Africa within the Eastern, Central, Southern and West Africa regions. Bush elephants are larger than forest elephants and their tusks curve outwards. Forest elephants are darker and their tusks are downward pointing. The bush elephants live in the grassy plains of the continent while the forest elephants live in the equatorial forests of western and central Africa. Bush elephants live together in large groups while forest elephants live and travel in smaller groups. 

African Forest Elephant

As I previously pointed out, the African elephant has ears that are larger in size than their Asian counterpart shaped distinctly like the African continent. It also has a concave back and is less hairy than the Asian elephant. Both the male and female species have tusks. This is not the case for the Asian elephants where females do not have tusks. They have two finger-like features at the end of their trunk that they use to grab items unlike their Asian cousins who have one. They also have four toes on their fore feet and five toes on their hind feet. African elephants are not as easily domesticated as their Asian brothers but prefer to roam freely in the Sub-Saharan.

Adult African elephants have been known to live between 40 and 70 years. The longest surviving individual however lived to 82 years! They are peaceful animals but can be rather dangerous when provoked! They enjoy swimming and fancy a good mud bath. :) Bull elephants usually leave the herd at puberty (14 years) and join up with other male elephants. They usually only return to mate. These species are voracious herbivores consuming grass, tender shoots and barks of trees whilst drinking over 200 litres of water in a single session! The largest concentrations of these animals are now found in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

With an approximate population of 470,000 remaining, African elephants continue to diminish in most countries. However, despite their reduced numbers, there is still hope for these creatures in the Southern Africa states where they continue to thrive under a secure environment.