African Elephant

African Elephant - Loxodonta africana

Desricption:

Elephants are the largest living land mammal, which during the Pleistocene Epoch (1.6
million to 10,000 years ago; roamed every landmass except Australia and Antarctica. The
African elephant can be quickly distinguished from the Indian elephant by its greater size and
its larger ears, which may reach a length of 1.5 m (5 ft) from top to bottom.

The boneless, muscular trunk, the most distinctive feature of elephants, is actually a greatly elongated upper lip and nose used to convey grasses, leaves, roots, fruits, and water to the mouth.

Cow elephants commonly mate by their 15th or 16th year, usually with a bull that is able to
contend with other bulls in the herd. A mating pair often separates from the herd for several
weeks. After a gestation period of 21 to 22 months, usually one calf is born and is able to
follow the herd within a few days.

Calves are vulnerable to attack by tigers, lions, and spotted hyenas, which are among the
few predators of elephants. The calves suckle the female's teats, which are just behind the
forelegs, for two years before weaning. Cows give birth to from 5 to 12 calves in a lifetime.

Elephants are gregarious and keenly sensitive to one another's calls and movements. They
associate within herds in troupes of 15 to 30 or more usually related members led by an old
female, called a matriarch.

Environment:

African elephants rang south of the Sahara and Africa, and are now limited to tropical forests, savannahs, deserts, and river valleys.

Food:

Elephants commonly feed in the morning, evening, and at night, and rest during the middle of the day. They eat leaves, shrubs, fruit, bark, shoots, twigs, roots and grasses.

Problem:

African elephant populations have been severely reduced in recent decades because of ivory hunting and the expansion of cattle-grazing lands.

Solution:

To help save elephants is to stop hunters poaching them and reserving a safe place for them with plenty of water and food with few enemies to attack them.

Information provided by: http://members.optusnet.com.au.