22/09/2022
General Elephant Facts
Did you know that the word “Elephant” is actually latin for “huge Arch”?
These animals certainly are huge and impressive beasts. In fact, the elephant is the largest living land mammal in the world.
A male elephant can grow up to 4 metres in height and weigh up to 7 tonnes; whilst their females counterparts can still weigh in at a mere 3.5 tonnes.
To feed an animal of such gigantic proportions takes a lot of food. Their daily food intake is almost as much as 4-7% of their body weight.
When you are an elephant, that equates to finding and eating an awful lot of food. As you would expect, all that food needs to be digested and dozed off, which is why our elephant friends can deposit upwards of 150 kg of dung daily! Eew mama Mia 😹🙌!
Elephants are herbivores and only eat grasses, herbs, fruit, plants and trees. Their healthy, vegetarian diet is obviously good for them as the average elephant has a life span of around 70 odd years, a bit like we do
Despite their size, they are actually pretty nimble and can walk up to 195 km per day, although they usually only average is only 25 km on a daily basis.
They can also run faster than you would expect, easily reaching speeds of 40 mph, which is a lot faster than us humans can run.
Where once elephants roamed across the whole of Africa, they are now limited to conservation areas and the Savannah.
African and Asian elephants can currently be found in 37 African countries, and across 13 Asian countries.
Most people believe that there are only two species of elephant in the word, but in fact there are three:
1). African savannah, Loxodonta africana
2). African forest, Loxodonta cyclotis
3). Asian, Elephas maximus
There are actually two very different species of African elephants living on the African continent, both very different in their culture and appearance.
Elephants are gentle, intelligent creatures that must be protected to ensure that they remain part of our natural ecosystem for centuries to come.
African elephants are the largest land mammal and have a number of distinctive physical characteristics.
Their trunks are used to pick up food, draw water, breathe and greet other elephants.
Their large ears that looks like the African continent is the reason why are called African elephants, the ears help them keep cool and communicate a range of emotions. Adult African elephants have two tusks which are used to peel bark off trees, mine for minerals and defend against predators.
African elephants are keystone species, in that they play a crucial role in maintaining their ecosystems. They assist with plant dispersal by depositing undigested plant seeds in their dung, and they alter their landscape by uprooting trees and digging for water during the dry season.
These foraging behaviours can also help other animals survive in harsh environmental conditions.
Elephants live in family groups, presided over by a dominant female, called a matriarch. Bull elephants depart the matriarchal herd when they reach sexual maturity, then move alone or in bachelor herds.
Herds can consist of 100 individuals or more, and they can move huge distances in search of food and water; for example, elephants in the deserts of Mali migrate across an area of 12,355 square miles.
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