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The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta
Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is
Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the
African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean
(mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes.
Scientists believe that the African Elephant
evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical
location and range of the African elephant covers all of central and southern
Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad
in Mali and Mauritania.
Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda,
Zaire, and in National parks located in South Africa, as well as several other
countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan
African habitats except desert steppes.
Elephants still occupy diverse habitats
such as: temperate grassland, tropical savanna and grass lands, temperate forest
and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical
deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their
migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are
restricted to protected areas.
The elephant can exist in many types of
environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the
elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have
plenty of rainfall. This ensures plenty of food, shade, and water. The elephant
prefers a habitat of mixed woodland and grassland which gives them an
opportunity to eat a variety of vegetation.
African Elephants are considered
herbivores, they are both browsers and grazers; they will eat rough sticks,
stems and leaves of plants as well as grasses, sedges, and fruit. Their
favorites are mangoes, berries and coconuts. An elephant eats up to 500 pounds
of vegetation every day and drinks up to 50 gallons of water daily. Elephants
must consume these giant quantities of food, due to their poor digestive system.
The small intestine is 82 feet long, the large intestine 21 feet long, and the
rectum adds a further 13 feet.
The problem with the digestive tract lies in
their gut; elephants have too few symbiotic bacteria. These are the organisms
which help break down the cellulose of plant cell walls by producing enzymes
called cellulases. The most remarkable feature of the elephant’s digestive
system is its 5 feet long appendix, bigger than the stomach. Proteins, starches,
and sugars are digested in the appendix.
The elephant will excrete almost 200
pounds a day of semi-digested food. Elephants live together in strong family
units which might have as few as two or as many as twenty members. When the
group gets too big, it splits up; but the groups stay in close contact. Elephant
life revolves around this unit which is usually headed by the oldest female. The
family offers protection, aid, comfort, and teaching to all of its members.
Within the units are cows, calves, and bulls.
The male bulls are very solitary
and most of the time travel only with other males, except during mating season
when the bulls travel with the pack looking for a mate. The males remain with
the family unit until they are about fourteen and then leave the family to join
the other males.
The African elephant usually gives birth to one calf every four
years. The gestation period is approximately twenty to twenty two years. The
newborn calf, which weighs 200-300 pounds and stands about three feet high, is
cared for by all of the females in the pack, not just by the mother. The calf
may nurse as long as eight years, or until its tusks are too long for the
mother. It takes about 14 to 15 years for an elephant to fully mature. They grow
to about 10-13 feet tall and 7.5 meters in length and weigh as much as 7 tons.
The family will remain together throughout their lives.
The elephant’s body has
many special features which it has adapted throughout the centuries to help it
survive in its environment. The most important part of the elephant’s body is
its trunk. An elephant uses its trunk for many things. With it, the elephant can
pick up objects that weigh as much as 600 lbs. This powerful trunk is also used
to beat off attacking animals and sometimes mother elephants use their trunks to
swat their babies.
The trunk, which is very flexible, can curl over the
elephant’s head so that the elephant can give itself showers and dust baths. The
trunk also curls towards the elephant’s mouth so it can eat and drink. At the
end of the trunk the elephant has finger-like projections similar to the human
thumb and forefinger. With this the elephant can pick up small objects. Baby
elephants often suck their trunks just like human babies suck their thumbs. The
nostrils at the tip of the trunk are highly sensitive, an elephant can detect a
water source from as far as 12 miles away, and detect the reproductive status of
another elephant from some distance.
The elephant also has tusks which can dig
up roots and help the elephant dig at dried up river beds for water. They also
help the elephant fight off attackers. The tusks are made of ivory and this is
why the elephants are being poached. Poachers can earn $5,000 for just 40 pounds
of ivory tusks. Another unusual part of the elephant’s body is its huge ears
which can be four feet wide in the male African elephant. With their huge ears
the elephant can swat bugs, look fierce, and keep itself cool. Although the ears
are so big the elephant has poor hearing and rely on their sense of smell. Since
the elephant cannot sweat to release heat, they must have another means of
releasing their body heat.
The elephant will repeatedly beat its ears along the
side of its head. When they do this the blood in its ears cools and the cool
blood is then circulated to the rest of the body. The wrinkles in their skin
help to increase the surface area of the elephant, which helps in cooling, and
mud and water are also trapped under the wrinkles, further helping the elephant
to keep cool.
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