Species of the Month

Introduction: World Elephant Day is next week, so to celebrate we’re profiling one of the world’s three

elephant species. In addition to the Asian elephant, did you know there are two different African

elephants? There’s the forest elephant and the more commonly known bush elephant, the August

Species of the Month.

African bush elephant (Wikipedia)

 

Scientific name: Loxodonta africana

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Mammalia (mammals)

Order: Proboscidea (elephants)

Range: Central and southern Africa

Habitat: Savannah, forest, deserts

Lifespan: 60-70 years

Diet: Grasses, herbs, fruit, tree leaves, and tree twigs, roots, and bark

Predators: Lions, African wild dogs, hyenas, crocodiles, humans

Mother and calf (Wikimedia Commons)

Conservation Status: Elephants are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list. They are threatened under

the US Endangered Species Act.

Other Information: The African bush elephant is the largest land mammal in the world. An adult male

can weigh over six tons with a shoulder height of ten feet. Adult males live alone or in small groups,

while females and calves will form a larger herd led by a matriarch. Calves are raised communally

and are totally dependent on maternal care for several months. They reach full independence around

eight years old. Elephants don’t grow their tusks until after they’re a year old and the baby teeth fall

out. They also have a conveyor belt of six molars that wear out and fall out, allowing the next in line

to move forward. After losing the last molars, they can no longer eat properly. The large ears are great

for hearing, but also dissipate heat. Elephants are very mobile with a large range because of the

massive amount of food they need to eat. They can drink up to 50 gallons of water a day. Mud and

dust baths help them keep cool. Predators mainly go after small calves that fall behind the rest of the

herd. The greatest challenges facing elephants are caused by humans. Development has caused habitat

loss, and keep in mind these giants need a lot of room to roam. Poaching is also a serious threat. Most

elephants are confined to protected areas, limiting their population sizes. However, even at a protected

reserve elephants aren’t safe from poachers.

Young elephants at the watering hole (Sierra Club)

This week’s information comes from Animal Diversity Web.