Description of African Elephants The
African Elephant is described as the Loxodonta africana of Africa. They
are very large, grey, four-legged herbivorous mammals. They have almost
hairless skin, a distinctive long, flexible, prehensile trunk. Its
upper incisors form long curved tusks of ivory. African elephants have
large fan-shaped ears and two “fingers” at the tip of its trunk,
compared to only one in the Asian species.
Description of Indian Elephants The
Indian Elephant is described as Elephas maximus of south-central Asia.
They are very large, grey, four-legged herbivorous mammals. They have
almost hairless skin, a distinctive long, flexible, prehensile trunk.
Its upper incisors form long curved tusks of ivory. The ears of Indian
elephants are significantly smaller than African elephants.
The
scientists who study animals (zoology ) are called zoologists. Each
animal that is studied is classified, that is, split into descriptive
groups starting with main groups ( vertebrates and invertebrates ) the
Families of animals are also included such as Ursidae ( the family of
bears) and the families are then split into species such as Ursus
americanus (American Black Bear)
Facts about where Elephants live and what they eat! Elephants are herbivores and eat all types of vegetation such as grasses, leaves, fruits, and bark
Facts about Elephants ears
Despite the size of ears the elephant’s hearing is poor
African elephants have bigger ears than Indian elephants
African elephants ears are used to aid ventilation
One
of the softest parts of their body is at the back of the ears, which is
called the knuckle. Elephant trainers, called Mahouts, use their feet
to steer or give commands to the animal via the knuckle at the back of
the ears
Basic Facts about Elephants
The name of an adult male is referred to as a bull The name of an adult female is referred to as a cow The name or offspring, or a baby Elephant, is a calf The average size of a litter is just one elephant The collective name for a group of Elephants is a herd The sounds made by an adult Elephant are referred to as grunts, purrs, bellows, whistles and trumpeting
Facts about the Size of Male African Elephants A fully grown adult reaches the height of 10 - 13 feet Adult African elephants weigh about 15,400 pounds
Facts about the Size of Male Indian Elephants A Fully grown adult reaches the height of 10 feet Adult Indian elephants weigh about 11,000 pounds
Cool and Fun Facts about the life, behavior and personality of Elephants
The elephant is the largest of all land mammals
Life Span - elephants can live for up to 70 years
Elephants normally walk about 4 mph
Elephants are able to swim for long distances
Elephants spend about 16 hours a day eating
They consume as much as 495 pounds of food per day
They live in tight social units led by an older matriarch
Males leave the herd between the ages of 12 and 15
Their tusks are of ivory and are actually enormously enlarged incisors
The elephant's eyes are small and its eyesight is poor
They have the largest brains in the animal kingdom
