African Elephants

[edit] Guide Note

The African elephants are the largest mammals on earth. They live in Sub-Saharan Africa.^{1 2}

[edit] Fast Facts

1. Scientific Name: Loxodonta Africana spp³
2. Habitat: Grasslands, dessert, forest¹
3. Diet: Herbivore⁴
4. Weight: Up to fourteen-thousand pounds⁵
5. Height: Up to thirteen feet tall⁵
6. Lifespan: Up to seventy years⁴
7. Threatened species⁵
8. Males and females have tusk⁵

The two subspecies of African elephants include the savannah elephant (L. a. africana) which is the larger of the two and lives mainly in the grasslands and bush of eastern and southern Africa. The forest elephant's (L. a. cyclotis) range includes central and western Africa.²

The African female reaches sexual maturity at about the age of 11. After a gestation period of about twenty-two to twenty-four months she will give birth to a 250 lb baby. The entire elephant heard helps to nurture the babies. African elephants will reproduce on average about every five years. A female usually stays with the same herd for life, while the male African elephant will leave the herd at around the age of fourteen.^{4 6}

The African elephant is being squeezed out of their natural habitat because of population growth. Large areas that the elephants once used as migration paths are being uses for agriculture and logging practices. Elephants are often shot because they raid farmer's fields and destroy crops for food.

Poaching is still a problem and elephants are killed for their ivory tucks and meat.²