The largest animal leading a terrestrial lifestyle is undoubtedly the elephant.
Today there are two main varieties of elephants: African and Indian.
In ancient times, incomparably more people lived on Earth major representatives this order of mammals. But due to their inability to cope with climate change, they have not survived to this day.
Concerning modern representatives of this order, then all the differences between African and Indian elephants lie in size.
Elephants living in Africa are larger than their Indian relatives.
These inhabitants of the northern part of the African continent also have such distinctive feature like strong tusks. It should be noted that both males and females have them.
In contrast to the African ones, who prefer the steppe landscape, they chose the tropical forests of India and its neighboring islands as their habitat. Compared with African relatives they are relatively small and look more peaceful due to the lack of tusks.
But as a result of centuries of development, Indian elephants acquired a special appendage at the end of their trunk, which completely replaces their upper limbs, allowing them to grab and move even small objects from place to place. However, Africans have two such processes, which, coupled with a huge physical strength would make them indispensable for use in heavy work, such as logging, transporting goods, etc. But they are not as well disposed towards humans as the Indian ones, they have great difficulty making contact and training them is difficult, and sometimes dangerous.
Specific structural features of the body
Elephants are extraordinary animals, and their body structure is unique. Not a single mammal has such an amazing and almost universal organ as the trunk. As a result of evolution, the animal's nose fused with the upper lip - and combined respiratory functions, the ability to smell and reproduce sounds, and even to receive liquid. In addition, due to its flexibility and mobility, the trunk practically serves as a replacement for the elephant's upper limbs. The presence of almost a hundred muscles in this organ allows you to lift considerable weights.
The ancestors of modern elephants were even more powerful, and their tusks were truly formidable weapons. Today, elephants have preserved only one pair, and in size it is significantly inferior to those tusks that can now only be seen in the paleontological museum.
Nowadays they hardly bring any tusks practical benefit, and have a decorative function, talking, for example, about the age of their owner. Man uses ivory as a material for jewelry, crafts, etc. But the price for the expensive material is often the life of an elephant. Legislation protects elephants, but poachers continue to kill them in large numbers.
Features of character and lifestyle
Elephants do not like loneliness and live in large herds, which can contain up to fifty animals. Elephants have high intelligence And wide range emotions.
They are capable of love and affection, friendship and caring for each other. Moreover, elephants excellent memory and great patience.
Large body mass dictates special living conditions for elephants. They need to absorb every day a large number of food, and therefore the main occupation of the elephant is searching for it, during which the herd has to travel long distances. Elephants are herbivores. They feed on plants, including roots, fruits, and even bark.
Naturally, the elephant also requires a large amount of liquid, and therefore these animals stop near water bodies. By the way, what’s surprising is that elephants are excellent swimmers, and if they want, they can even arrange for themselves real shower, using his wonderful trunk.
The lifespan of an elephant is almost human, it can reach seventy years or more.
They do not have wool, but their thick skin is an excellent protection from both the heat and the cool of the night. Elephants are very hardy and sleep no more than four hours.
An elephant carries a baby for twenty-two months - and this is longer than all other viviparous creatures. The entire herd pays attention to the cub, since its appearance is a rare event.
Elephants do not make sounds very often, but they communicate well with gestures. For example, a clear sign of aggression is splayed ears. Flapping your ears is also an expressive gesture, indicating a sense of danger. In anger or panic, an elephant is scary, and the enemy is unlikely to escape alive: the elephant can crush him with its huge mass. Tusks are also a formidable weapon.
However, sounds can also be an expression of various emotions. Elephants trumpet, snort and can even squeal, also using their trunk to produce sound.
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It's easy to guess that African elephant lives in Africa, almost throughout the continent. It is the largest land animal, reaching a weight of more than 3 tons. African elephant quite tall - 4 meters. This type of elephant has quite large and pronounced tusks. Males have large tusks - up to three meters, in females they do not reach even a meter. The trunk of elephants is formed by fusion upper lip and nose. Elephants are herbivorous mammals, preferring grasses, leaves, and branches as food. Elephants live in families of several individuals (the number of individuals is approximately 10-15 in each group). Elephants are very friendly to each other, and peace reigns in their family. Adult elephants carefully guard young elephants, and when a baby is born, the whole family seems to rejoice. The female carries the cub for quite a long time - almost two years. Usually one baby elephant is born. After birth, the cub feeds on mother’s milk for 2 years and only after five years lives independently. Life expectancy of elephants: 50-60 years.
Indian elephant
Habitat: India, Southeast Asia. It is slightly smaller than the African elephant. Compared to the African elephant, the Indian elephant does not have big ears and less pronounced tusks. Some females have no tusks at all. The elephant also eats grass, various fruits. By the way, all elephants feed with the help of their trunk: they take food with their trunk and put it in their mouth. They also drink using their trunk. The Indian elephant is more friendly towards people, so they are captured for circuses and zoos more often than African elephants. Now the population of Indian elephants has sharply declined.
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How many species of elephants are there in the world?
African forest elephant
To date, only two species have survived in the elephant family (Familia Elephantidae Sgau): Indian elephants, which are found in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, as well as on the Indochina Peninsula, and African elephants, which zoologists divide into those living in savannas ( savannah elephants) and living in tropical forests(forest elephants).
African and Indian elephants differ in body structure
and disposition.
These differences are quite large, and when crossing two elephants different types there are no offspring.
The African elephant is taller than the Indian elephant, its ears are larger, its skin is rougher, its trunk is thinner, the tusks, which both males and females have, are more developed; The weight of males reaches 5 - 7.5 tons, females - 3 - 4 tons.
Indian male elephants weigh 4.5 - 5 tons, females - 3 - 4 tons; Females, as a rule, do not have tusks.
Both African and Indian elephants live in herds.
The basis of the herd is family group of two to five, sometimes more elephants tied family relations(most often this is an old elephant and her offspring of different generations).
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Origin of modern elephants
As is known, both species of elephants are descendants of Proboscidea - an ancient animal with a trunk. Elephants living today are descended from two different branches of ancestors that developed in parallel. Both of them developed when dinosaurs dominated the earth. It was then that Moeritheres, tapir-like animals, appeared on the territory of modern Egypt.
This happened in the Paleocene era (65 million years ago).
How many species of elephants live on earth?
The structure of the skull and the arrangement of the teeth of these proboscideans were almost the same as those of the modern elephant, and the four teeth were the harbingers of modern tusks. Another branch was represented by Deinotheriidae, animals that lived in Africa and Eurasia.
Being in favorable conditions content, all these animals over the next twenty-six million years spread throughout Africa and Eurasia, and over time, throughout Northern and South America. Different climatic conditions and habitats have led to the emergence various types proboscis
They lived everywhere - from the polar ice cap to the desert, including the tundra, taiga, forests, as well as savannah and swamps. All species, and there were more than three hundred of them, can be divided into four main classes.
Deinotherium lived in the Eocene era (58 million years ago) and was very similar to modern elephants. They were much smaller, had a shorter trunk, and two large tusks curled down and back. This class became extinct 2.5 million years ago.
Gomphotherium lived during the Oligocene era (37 million years ago).
They had an elephant's body, but a vestigial trunk. The teeth were similar to those of modern elephants, but there were also four small tusks, two of which were twisted up and two down. Some had wide, flat jaws that allowed them to scoop up swamp vegetation. Others had significantly smaller jaws, but more developed tusks. This species became extinct approximately 10,000 years ago.
From Gomphotherium in the Miocene-Pleistocene era (10-12 million years ago) Mamutidae (Mammutidae), often called mastodons, evolved.
These animals were almost the same as elephants, but had more powerful body, long tusks and a long trunk. They also differed in the location of their teeth. The eyes of mastodons were much smaller, and there was dense hair on the body.
It is assumed that mastodons lived in forests until primitive people did not come to the continent (approximately 18,000 years ago).
Elephantids (Elephantidae) evolved from mastodons in the Pleistocene era (1.6 million years ago) and gave rise to the family Mammuthus, the closest family to prehistoric elephants, the huge woolly mammoths and two lineages of modern elephants: Elephas and Loxodonta. Mammuthus imperator, who lived in the southern part North America, was the largest mammoth: 4.5 meters (15 ft) at the withers.
The northern woolly mammoth, Mammus primigehius, lived in northern North America and Eurasia. Its numbers were enormous.
This species is the most studied, as several whole frozen individuals have been found, which are still stored in this form to this day.
Woolly mammoths were slightly larger than modern elephants and protected themselves from the cold with long, dense, reddish fur and a 76 millimeter (3 in) thick layer of fat under their skin.
Their long tusks were curled downwards, forwards and inwards and served to tear apart the snow covering the vegetation. The African and Indian elephant are all that remain today of their many ancestors.
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Types of elephants
Of these two species, African elephants are further divided into two species (savannah and forest), while Asian elephant divided into four types (Sri Lankan, Indian, Sumartan and Borneo).
Elephants, like people, are capable of change, and change depending on their character, emotions and personal qualities (individual characteristics). Asian elephants were very important to Asian culture for thousands of years - they have been domesticated and are now used as a means of transport in difficult terrain, for carrying heavy objects such as logs, and at festivals and in the circus.
Currently, the Indian elephant is the largest, it has longer front legs and more thin body than its Thai counterparts. We will dwell in more detail on Thai elephants, although of course these characteristics apply to all types of Asian Elephants. Let's pay attention to some small details. Using our own experience and taking into account information from numerous other sources, we will tell you our own interpretation.
Asian elephants
About half of them are domesticated, the rest live in wildlife in National parks and reserves. Around 300 are suffering in Bangkok's deplorable conditions. It is known that at the beginning of the 20th century (1900 AD) more than 100,000 elephants lived in Siam (Thai) rural areas. Asian elephants are smaller than African ones.
How many species of elephants are there in the world?
They have smaller ears, and only males have tusks.
The first species is the Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). They live on the island of Sri Lanka. A large male can reach 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and be over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very convex skulls.
Their head, trunk and belly are usually bright pink.
Another species, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up most number of Asian elephants. There are about 36,000 of them, they are light gray, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. A large male averages only 5,000 kg (11,000 lb), but they are still as tall as the Sri Lankan.
Indian elephants meet at eleven Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forests and areas between forests and fields where a greater variety of food is available to them.
The smallest group of elephants is the Sumartan elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). There are only 2100 - 3000 individuals. They are a very light gray color with pink only on the ears. A mature Sumartan elephant reaches only 1.7-2.6 m (5.6-8.5 ft) in height and weighs less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb).
Although it is, of course, a huge animal in any case, the Sumartan elephant is nevertheless much smaller than any other Asian (and African) and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forests and groves.
In 2003, another species of elephant was discovered on the island of Borneo. They were called Dwarf elephants Borneo, they are smaller and calmer, more docile than other Asian elephants.
They have relatively large ears, more a long tail and straighter fangs.
African elephants
Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa. The African elephant is the largest living land animal. It is characterized by a massive heavy body, a large head on short neck, thick limbs, huge ears and a long muscular trunk.
The most striking difference from Asian ones is the ears. Africans have them much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin.
Both male and female African elephants have tusks and are typically less hairy than their Asian counterparts. Tusks grow throughout an elephant's life and serve as an indicator of its age. Historically, African elephants have been observed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, the area where elephants live has been greatly reduced. The African elephant has become completely extinct in Burundi, Gambia and Mauritania. individual species preserved further north, in Mali. Despite their wide distribution area, elephants are mainly concentrated in national parks and reserves.
Traditionally, there are two species of African elephants, namely the Savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the Forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis).
The African savannah elephant is the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest animal on Earth in the world, reaching 4 m (13 ft) in height and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons).
The average male is about 3 m (10 ft) tall and weighs 5500-6000 kg (6.1-6.6 tons), the female is much smaller. Most often, Savannah elephants are found in open fields, swamps, and on the shores of lakes.
They mainly live in the savannah and migrate south from the Sahara Desert.
Compared to the Savannah Elephant, the ears of the African Forest Elephant are usually smaller and more rounded, and the tusks are thinner and straighter. The forest elephant weighs up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and reaches a height of 3 m (10 ft). Much less is known about these animals than about their savannah counterparts - emerging political differences and the habitat conditions of African forest elephants prevent their study.
Typically, they inhabit impenetrable tropical forests of the central and West Africa. The largest populations of Forest Elephants are currently found in Southern and Eastern Africa.
There are two species of elephant - the African elephant (genus: Loxodonta) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). They are different, but there are still some striking differences. African elephants number approximately 500,000, while the number of Asian elephants is declining dramatically, with less than 30,000 remaining.
Of these two species, African elephants are further divided into two species (savannah and forest), while Asian elephants are divided into four species (Sri Lankan, Indian, Sumartan and Borneo). Elephants, like people, are capable of change, and change depending on their character, emotions and personal qualities (individual characteristics).
Asian elephants have been very important to Asian culture for thousands of years - they have been domesticated and are now used for transportation in difficult terrain, for carrying heavy objects such as logs, and at festivals and in the circus. Currently, the Indian elephant is the largest, with longer front legs and a slimmer body than its Thai counterparts. We will dwell in more detail on Thai elephants, although of course these characteristics apply to all types of Asian Elephants.
Let's pay attention to some small details. Using our own experience and taking into account information from numerous other sources, we will tell you our own interpretation.
Asian elephants
They are officially considered an endangered species; in Thailand their numbers reach only 3,000-4,000.
About half of them are domesticated, the rest live in the wild in National Parks and Reserves. Around 300 are suffering in Bangkok's deplorable conditions. It is known that in the early 20th century (1900 AD) more than 100,000 elephants lived in the Siamese (Thai) countryside.
Asian elephants are smaller than African ones. They have smaller ears, and only males have tusks.
The first species is the Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). They live on the island of Sri Lanka. A large male can reach 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and be over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall.
Sri Lankan males have very convex skulls. Their head, trunk and belly are usually bright pink.
Another species, the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) makes up the majority of the Asian elephant population.
There are about 36,000 of them, they are light gray, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. A large male averages only 5,000 kg (11,000 lb), but they are still as tall as the Sri Lankan. Indian elephants are found in eleven Asian countries, from India to Indonesia.
They prefer forests and areas between forests and fields where a greater variety of food is available to them.
The smallest group of elephants is the Sumartan elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus).
There are only 2100 - 3000 individuals.
Elephant - description, species, where it lives
They are a very light gray color with pink only on the ears. A mature Sumartan elephant reaches only 1.7-2.6 m (5.6-8.5 ft) in height and weighs less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). Although it is, of course, a huge animal in any case, the Sumartan elephant is nevertheless much smaller than any other Asian (and African) and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forests and groves.
In 2003, another species of elephant was discovered on the island of Borneo.
They were called Borneo Dwarf Elephants, they are smaller and calmer, more docile than other Asian elephants. They have relatively large ears, a longer tail, and straighter fangs.
African elephants
Elephants of the genus Loxodonta, known as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa.
The African elephant is the largest living land animal. It is characterized by a massive, heavy body, a large head on a short neck, thick limbs, huge ears and a long, muscular trunk.
The most striking difference from Asian ones is the ears. Africans have them much larger and are shaped like the continent of their origin. Both male and female African elephants have tusks and are typically less hairy than their Asian counterparts. Tusks grow throughout an elephant's life and serve as an indicator of its age.
Historically, African elephants have been observed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, the area where elephants live has been greatly reduced. The African elephant has become completely extinct in Burundi, Gambia and Mauritania; some species have survived further north, in Mali. Despite their wide distribution area, elephants are mainly concentrated in national parks and reserves. Traditionally, there are two species of African elephants, namely the Savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the Forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis).
The African savannah elephant is the largest of all elephants. In fact, it is the largest animal on Earth in the world, reaching 4 m (13 ft) in height and weighing approximately 7,000 kg (7.7 tons). The average male is about 3 m (10 ft) tall and weighs 5500-6000 kg (6.1-6.6 tons), the female is much smaller. Most often, Savannah elephants are found in open fields, swamps, and on the shores of lakes. They mainly live in the savannah and migrate south from the Sahara Desert.
Compared to the Savannah Elephant, the ears of the African Forest Elephant are usually smaller and more rounded, and the tusks are thinner and straighter.
The forest elephant weighs up to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) and reaches a height of 3 m (10 ft). Much less is known about these animals than about their savannah counterparts; emerging political differences and the habitat conditions of African forest elephants prevent their study. Typically, they inhabit the impenetrable tropical forests of central and western Africa.
The largest populations of Forest Elephants are currently found in Southern and Eastern Africa.
. African elephant
. Indian elephant
. The fate of elephants in Africa
. About Indian elephants
. Indian working elephants
. African savannah elephant
. What is an Indian elephant?
. What is an African elephant?
. Origin of modern elephants
. Andrey Kornilov and circus elephants
. Did the mammoth hunt or warming influence the disappearance of the animal?
. forest elephant
. The smallest elephant
Body: The color varies from brown to dark gray, the hair of elephants is long, coarse, and sparsely covers the body. Elephants have thick skin that protects them from the cold.
Elephant - brief description, breeding process, interesting facts (89 photos + video)
The elephant also has four thick legs to support their enormous weight.
Vision: Elephants are quite nearsighted, able to see clearly only at very close distances, up to approximately 10 meters.
Hearing: Excellent hearing by human standards. Large ears act as amplifiers and warn of possible dangers.
Smell: Fine developed sense of smell surpasses the sense of smell of any other mammal on Earth.
Touch: An amazing sense of balance is a consequence of an excellent sense of touch.
The elephant's trunk, an incredibly versatile organ, plays a large role in this ability. More detailed description elephant trunk you will find on this page.
Taste: Like all highly developed animals, food is sufficient and the elephant can easily distinguish between good, bad and favorite food.
Teeth and tusks: Male Asian African elephants have large tusks - up to 1.5 - 1.8 m in length, while females have no tusks at all.
African elephants have long tusks in both sexes. Newborn elephants have tusks that are only 2 inches long. And only when they reach two years of age do the tusks begin to grow. In fact, tusks are the teeth of elephants. The only creature, which also has tusks, is a walrus. Elephants need tusks to dig the ground for food, remove garbage, fight, and carry loads weighing up to 1 ton, such as timber.
The molars (chewing teeth) are at least 30 cm (1 ft) long and weigh approximately 4 kg (8.8 lbs). Elephants have only four of these teeth. When new molars form, they completely displace the old ones. During its life, an elephant usually replaces its molars six times; the last ones grow in at about 40 years of age. When, around the age of 70, they break down, it becomes difficult for the elephant to eat, and subsequently, many of the elephants die of starvation.
Tusks never stop growing.
Legs: An elephant's legs are large, straight pillar-like supports because they must support all of its enormous weight.
Therefore, the elephant does not need developed muscles to stand, since it has straight legs and soft pads on its feet. Thus, an elephant can stand on its feet for a very long time without getting tired. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are tired or sick.
Indian elephants, on the contrary, lie down often.
An elephant's feet are almost circular in shape. The African elephant has three claws on its hind legs and four on its front legs. The Indians have four on the back and five on the front.
The peculiar structure of the soles (a special springy mass located under the skin) makes the gait of elephants almost silent.
Under the weight of the elephant, the bulges of the sole increase, and when the weight decreases, they also deflate. Thanks to this, the elephant can plunge deep into the mud and move through swampy terrain: when the animal stretches its leg out of the quagmire, the sole takes the shape of a cone narrowing downward; when stepping, the sole flattens under the weight of the body, increasing the area of support.
Elephants are good swimmers, but they cannot walk fast, jump, or gallop.
They can walk only in two ways: normal walking, and a faster one, similar to running. When walking, the legs act like pendulums, the hips and shoulders rise and fall while the feet remain on the ground. Thus, elephants always have at least one foot on the ground.
When walking quickly, an elephant has three feet on the ground at the same time. When walking at a normal pace, an elephant's speed is approximately 3 to 6 km/h (2 to 4 mph), but can reach a maximum of 40 km/h (24 mph).
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. general characteristics elephants
. Anatomy of an elephant
. Why does an elephant need a trunk and tusks?
. Sensitive Organs
. elephant body
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. Elephants mating
. Elephant feet
The African elephant animal is a mammal from the order Proboscis, whose distribution is Africa. It is one of the largest animals living on the planet.
Recently, scientists divided the genus into two species - savannah and forest; previously they were considered subspecies of one animal.
Description
The height of the African elephant reaches 3.3 m, length - up to 7.5 m. Many people are interested in which elephant is larger, Indian or African - Indian ones are about a third smaller.
The weight of an African elephant can exceed 6 tons. It is curious how much the forest elephant weighs; some time ago it was considered a subspecies of the African elephant; its mass rarely exceeds 2,700 kg.
general characteristics
Elephants are divided into two types - savanna and forest, the second is characterized by significantly smaller sizes. Relatively recently, desert elephants have been discovered as an isolated population that has managed to survive in extreme conditions.
Habitat. Area
The elephant was once widespread south of the Sahara, but gradually the range shrank and ceased to be continuous; the area decreased by almost 6 times from the previous 30 million square kilometers. In some countries the elephant has disappeared, among them:
- Mauritania;
- Gambia;
- Burundi.
The distribution area is quite large, but in reality African giants live in national parks and reservations.
Appearance
The African giant has a massive body, a large head located on a short neck. The limbs are thick, and the ears reach a respectable size; a distinctive feature of the animal is a long trunk with strong muscles. Upper incisors in the process of evolution they received the shape of tusks. Covered with sparse hair, the color is predominantly gray.
Habitat
They can inhabit various types of terrain, with the exception of deserts and tropical forests.
In this regard, the African elephant and the Indian elephant have certain similarities; they need similar conditions for a comfortable existence. They need access to food, shade and sufficient fluids.
Lifestyle
They drive active life V different time days, but during particularly hot hours, activity drops significantly. The more active people are in the immediate area, the more likely they are to switch to night look life.
They have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, allowing them to hear at a distance of 10 km. The African giant and the Indian elephant have poor eyesight; a comparison says that the latter has twice as bad eyesight (only 10 meters of visibility). A massive physique does not interfere with active and fast movements. They sleep for about 40 minutes.
Nutrition
The elephant mainly uses plant foods, per day it can eat up to 300 kg of leaves, roots, branches; old elephants usually eat in the swamps. Every day the animal must drink more than 100 liters of water; during drought, it creates reservoirs by breaking up dry riverbeds.
Reproduction
For the most part, in African individuals, reproduction occurs in the middle of the rainy season, although it is not tied to a specific time of year, but during this period conditions are most favorable. During drought, elephants lose their ability to reproduce and sexual activity is extremely rare. It has the longest pregnancy among mammals, often reaching 22 months.
Enemies
African elephants have little natural enemies, the main one is man, who is responsible for the extermination of a large number of individuals and a significant decrease in the population.
African elephants are often attacked by land leeches; to remove them, a stick is taken into the trunk, with which the animal scrapes along the body. If an individual cannot get rid of trouble on its own, another one helps it. Elephant calves can be attacked by lions and adults are inaccessible to them.
Lifespan
The African elephant lives on average 60 years, but in captivity the animal's age can exceed 80 years. Young elephants engage in skirmishes with rhinoceroses, causing half to die before the age of 15. The most common cause of death in old individuals is wear of the molars; they die of starvation due to the inability to eat.
Red Book
In 2004, the status of the animal in the Red Book changed from “endangered species” to “vulnerable”, but the risk of extinction of the species remains quite high.
People often ask which elephant can be trained, African or Indian, only the second can be trained; the wild nature of elephants from Africa does not allow them to be trained. There are many other interesting facts associated with these animals:
- the weight of big elephant weighed 11 tons, he was killed in Angola in 1956;
- animals have good memory and developed system communications;
- An adult elephant's trunk contains up to 8 liters of water at a time.
The name of this amazing animal has long become a household name. “Like a bull in a china shop” and many others idioms, aphorisms, proverbs associated with elephants exist in our culture. And for good reason, because the elephant is perhaps one of the most interesting representatives animal world of our planet, and also one of the largest. More precisely, the elephant is the largest among all terrestrial species animals. Our article today is about him.
Elephant: description, structure, characteristics. What does an elephant look like?
Elephants truly look like giants among other animals. The height of the elephant is 2-4 m, with a weight of 3 to 7 tons. Moreover, elephants living in Africa are larger than elephants in Asia; some especially large African savannah elephants can weigh as much as 10-12 tons. The elephant's body is powerful, it is covered with thick brown or gray skin with deep wrinkles. The thickness of an elephant’s skin is on average 2.5 cm; it is not without reason that it has also become one of the common noun symbols of this creature; “thick-skinned like an elephant” they say, sometimes characterizing a person who is difficult to hurt or offend.
Also, elephants, unlike their closest relatives, mammoths (unfortunately extinct), have practically no vegetation on their bodies.
The elephant's head is quite large, with large signature ears. Nature gave elephants such ear sizes not only for beauty, but they also play a very important role. useful function– regulate heat exchange. Fanning their ears allows elephants to increase their cooling effect.
An elephant's thick legs have two kneecaps, and this structure of their legs makes the elephant the only land animal that is unable to jump (however, elephants do not need to jump). In the center of the foot there is a special fat pad that springs with every step; it is this that allows elephants to move almost silently. But what is most interesting is that the sole of the elephant’s foot, when stepping on the ground, will sharply expand, thereby increasing the supporting surface, and narrow again when the elephant raises its foot up. This mechanism allows these heavy giants to move without much difficulty, including in swampy areas, without getting stuck in swamps.
The elephant's trunk is another unique feature of this animal, its calling card. In fact, the trunk of elephants is formed by the nose, fused with the upper lip. The 100 muscles + tendons that the elephant trunk possesses makes it strong and flexible. For elephants, the trunk has a number of important functions (in general, the trunk is about the same for them as hands are for us) - with its help they take food, pour water on themselves, communicate with each other and even raise their offspring. The trunk also provides elephants with a sense of smell and touch.
But the elephant tusks are another one important attribute this animal to some extent became his curse. The fact is that the high value of ivory at one time led to the mass extermination of elephants by hunters and poachers. But let's not talk about sad things, an elephant's tusks grow throughout its life and the stronger and more powerful they are, the older the elephant is.
Elephants also have a tail, it is the same length as hind legs. The tip of the elephant's tail is framed by coarse hair, which helps ward off annoying insects.
Interesting fact: all elephants love and know how to swim. Also, despite their impressive size and apparent clumsiness; when running, they can reach speeds of up to 50 km per hour.
How long do elephants live?
The lifespan of elephants is about the same as that of us humans; on average, elephants live up to 70 years.
Where do elephants live?
Elephants have two main habitats: Africa and Asia, as we wrote above, African elephants are larger than Asian and wilder, below we will dwell in detail on each species of elephant.
What do elephants eat?
Considering huge size elephants, these giants need a large amount of food. Elephants spend approximately 16 hours a day absorbing food; on average, an elephant eats 300 kg of vegetation per day. Food for herbivorous giants is grass, rhizomes, tree leaves, fruits of wild bananas and apples. The migrations of African elephants are associated with the search for food; usually a herd of elephants stays in a certain area until it is completely devastated, and when all the grass and all the leaves around are eaten, the elephants set off in search of new pastures with lush vegetation. Also, sometimes elephants cause significant damage to crops of corn, sweet potatoes and other agricultural crops. Elephants take food with their trunk and chew it with their molars.
Also, elephants not only eat a lot, but also drink just as much. An adult elephant drinks from 100 to 300 liters of water per day. It is not surprising that elephants are always near bodies of water.
Enemies of elephants
Considering their size and the power of elephants' enemies natural conditions No. The only thing that bothers them is various annoying insects, which their thick skin and fanning tail help them get rid of.
However, the main enemy of elephants is, of course, humans, the reason for this is elephant tusks, which are very highly valued, and it is because of this that in the last twentieth century, the population of African elephants simply declined at a catastrophic rate. Part of the efforts to exterminate these giants were “enlightened” white hunters going to Africa on hunting safari. The elephant, which is one of the so-called “African Big Five,” was the desired prey of white hunters. Fortunately, now, instead of hunting safaris, tourists go on photo safaris; elephants are now under the protection of a number of African states and live in special national parks where hunting wild animals is strictly prohibited.
Types of elephants, photos and names
All elephants, depending on their habitat, are divided into African and Asian, moreover, African elephants, in turn, are divided into savannah and forest elephants, we will dwell on them in detail below.
This is the most big representative elephant family. It lives in African shrouds along the equator throughout Africa. It has a dark color, strong tusks and a process on the edge of the trunk.
This African elephant is slightly smaller than its savanna relative. Has rounded ears. Lives in tropical African forests.
The Indian elephant, native to Asia, is sole representative elephant family in these places. Despite its name, the Indian elephant lives not only in India, but also in many other countries. neighboring countries: Burma, Thailand, China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia. The Indian elephant is smaller in size than the savannah elephant; its distinctive features are small quadrangular-shaped ears and a process at the end of the trunk.
And these elephants, unlike their African counterparts, were tamed by humans; since ancient times, rich Indian rajahs rode elephants, and warriors used elephants, including for combat purposes. In wars ancient world such a war elephant was like a modern tank.
Elephant breeding
Elephants live in family herds, with an average of 9-12 individuals, where the leader is the oldest female. Yes, matriarchy reigns in the elephant family. Female elephants reach sexual maturity at 12-14 years of age (exactly like humans), and by the age of 16, a female elephant is already capable of bearing cubs.
As for the males, after they reach sexual maturity at the age of 15-20 years, they leave their native herd and become single elephants. During certain mating periods, sensing that the females are ready to mate, the male elephant approaches the herd and begins courting the female elephant he likes. During this period, clashes often arise between male elephants, and then the desired female elephant goes to the strongest suitor.
An elephant's pregnancy lasts 20-22 months; childbirth takes place in the company of other females from the herd, who carefully surround the mother and newborn baby, protecting them from accidental danger. Usually only one baby elephant is born, in very rare cases there may be twins. A born elephant calf usually weighs about a hundredweight. The baby elephant develops very quickly, within a month he walks and sucks his mother's milk, travels with his relatives, grabbing his mother's tail with his trunk. Until two years old, elephant calves are fed with their mother's milk, and, interestingly, not only its mother, but also another lactating elephant can feed the baby elephant.
Why are elephants afraid of mice?
It would seem an amazing paradox of nature, a mighty giant elephant is afraid of a small mouse. In fact, no, since the elephant’s fear of mice, which has become a “talk of the town,” is in reality nothing more than a myth, a legend, since elephants are not afraid of mice, zoo workers know this well, the elephants there are completely indifferent to small rodents and are not They pay no attention to them.
But where do the roots of this funny legend come from? There is a version that elephants are afraid of mice, because in the old days there were so many mice that they dared to attack elephants’ legs, and even managed to gnaw the elephants’ limbs to the bone. But this is just an explanation of a legend that has no basis in reality
Why does an elephant have a long nose?
The long elephant trunk, also known as the nose, has also become food for many myths and legends. For example, one instructive African tale tells us about a curious little elephant who, wanting to find out who lives in the swamp, fell into the mouth of a crocodile. The crocodile grabbed the baby elephant by its nose, wanting to drag it under the water, but the baby elephant resisted with all its might and eventually escaped from the crocodile’s mouth, only after that its nose became long, long and turned into a trunk. And since then, they say, all elephants have long trunks as a result of the curiosity of that baby elephant who stuck his nose where it shouldn’t.
In fact, the trunk of elephants was formed gradually as a result of millions of years of evolution. And what’s interesting is that young elephants spend several months learning the art of controlling their trunks.
- Among elephants, like among people, there are right-handers and left-handers.
- Elephants do not sweat because they simply do not have sebaceous glands. Water procedures and mud baths, which elephants love so much, help them lower their body temperature.
- Elephants, along with dolphins, are among the smartest animals on the planet; they have excellent memory, remember grievances and places important events, have empathy, developed emotional experiences, are able to be happy, sad, and empathize with their loved ones.
- Domesticated elephants have a good-natured character, they are patient and flexible. But if you push an elephant (and for this you need to try hard), it won’t be sweet; when the elephant, as a result of prolonged stress or strong emotional experiences, goes berserk, it begins to destroy everything around it.
Elephants, video
And finally interesting documentary"The Life of a Family of African Elephants."
Elephant- one of the most amazing animals. They not only know a lot, but they can also be sad, worry, bored and even laugh.
IN difficult situations they always come to the aid of their relatives. Elephants have a talent for music and drawing.
Features and habitat of the elephant
Two million years ago, during the Pleistocene period, mammoths and mastodons were widespread throughout the planet. Currently, two species of elephants have been studied: African and Indian.
There is an opinion that this is the most large mammal on the planet. However, it is wrong. The largest is the blue or blue whale, in second place is the sperm whale and only the third place is occupied by the African elephant.
It is truly the largest of all land animals. The second largest land animal after the elephant is the hippopotamus.
At the withers, the African elephant reaches 4 m and weighs up to 7.5 tons. Indian elephant weighs a little smaller – up to 5t, its height – 3m. The mammoth is one of the extinct proboscis animals. The elephant is a sacred animal in India and Thailand.
Pictured is an Indian elephant
According to legend, Buddha's mother had a dream White elephant with a lotus, which predicted the birth of an unusual child. White elephant- a symbol of Buddhism and the embodiment of spiritual wealth. When an albino elephant is born in Thailand, this is a significant event; the King of the state himself takes it under his wing.
These are the largest land mammals, which also inhabit Southeast Asia. They prefer to settle in savanna areas and tropical forests. It is impossible to meet them only in deserts.
Elephant animal, which is famous for its large tusks. They are used when obtaining food, to clear the road, and to mark the territory. The tusks grow constantly, in adult individuals the growth rate can reach 18 cm per year, old individuals have the largest tusks of approximately 3 meters.
Teeth are constantly worn down, fall out and new ones grow in their place (they change about five times in a lifetime). The price of elephant ivory is very high, which is why the animals are constantly being destroyed.
And although the animals are protected and are even listed as international, there are still poachers who are ready to kill this beautiful animal for profit.
It is very rare to find animals with large tusks, since almost all of them were exterminated. It is noteworthy that in many countries the killing of an elephant entails death penalty.
There is a legend about the existence of separate mysterious cemeteries among elephants, where old and sick animals go to die, since it is very rare to find the tusks of dead animals. However, scientists managed to dispel this legend; it turned out that porcupines feast on tusks, which thus satisfy their mineral hunger.
Elephant is a species of animal, which has one more interesting organ- a trunk reaching seven meters in length. It is formed from the upper lip and nose. The trunk contains approximately 100,000 muscles. This organ is used for breathing, drinking and making sounds. It plays an important role when eating food, as a kind of flexible hand.
To grasp small objects, the Indian elephant uses a small appendage on its trunk that resembles a finger. The African representative has two. The trunk serves both for plucking blades of grass and for breaking big trees. With the help of the trunk, animals can take a shower from dirty water.
This is not only pleasant for the animals, but also protects the skin from annoying insects (dirt dries out and forms protective film). Elephant is a group of animals which have very large ears. African elephants have much larger ones than Asian ones. The ears of animals are not only a hearing organ.
Since elephants do not have sebaceous glands, they never sweat. Numerous capillaries piercing the ears in hot weather expand and release excess heat into the atmosphere. In addition, this organ can be fanned.
Elephant- the only thing mammal, which cannot jump or run. They can either just walk or move around briskly, which is equivalent to running. Despite heavy weight, thick skin (about 3 cm) and thick bones, the elephant walks very quietly.
The thing is that the pads on the animal’s foot spring and expand as the load increases, which makes the animal’s gait almost silent. These same pads help elephants move through swampy areas. At first glance, the elephant is a rather clumsy animal, but it can reach speeds of up to 30 km per hour.
Elephants have excellent vision, but use more of their senses of smell, touch and hearing. Long eyelashes are designed to protect against dust. Being good swimmers, animals can swim up to 70 km and stay in the water without touching the bottom for six hours.
The sounds made by elephants using the larynx or trunk can be heard at a distance of 10 km.
Character and lifestyle of an elephant
Wild elephants live in a herd of up to 15 animals, where all individuals are exclusively females and relatives. The head of the herd is the matriarch female. The elephant cannot stand loneliness; it is vital for him to communicate with his relatives; they are loyal to the herd until death.
Members of the herd help and care for each other, raise children conscientiously and protect themselves from danger and help weak members of the family. Male elephants are often solitary animals. They live next to some group of females, less often they form their own herds.
Children live in a group until they are 14 years old. Then they choose: either stay in the herd or create their own. If a fellow tribesman dies, the animal becomes very sad. In addition, they respect the ashes of their relatives, they will never step on them, trying to move them from the path, and they even recognize the bones of relatives among other remains.
Elephants spend no more than four hours sleeping during the day. Animals African elephants sleep standing up. They huddle together and lean on each other. Old elephants lay their large tusks on a termite mound or tree.
Indian elephants spend their sleep lying on the ground. The elephant's brain is quite complex and is second only to whales in structure. It weighs approximately 5 kg. In the animal world, elephant- one of the most intelligent representatives of fauna in the world.
They can recognize themselves in the mirror, which is one of the signs of self-awareness. Only and can boast of this quality. Also, only chimpanzees and elephants use tools.
Observations have shown that the Indian elephant can use a tree branch as a fly swatter. Elephants have excellent memory. They easily remember places they have been and people they have interacted with.
Nutrition
Elephants love to eat. Elephants feed 16 hours a day. They need up to 450 kg various plants daily. An elephant can drink from 100 to 300 liters of water per day, depending on the weather.
In the photo there are elephants at a watering hole
Elephants are herbivores; their diet includes tree roots and bark, grass, and fruits. Animals replenish the lack of salt with the help of licks (salt that has come to the surface of the earth). In captivity, elephants eat grass and hay.
They will never give up apples, bananas, cookies and bread. Excessive love for sweets can lead to health problems, but candies of a wide variety of varieties are the most favorite treat.
Elephant reproduction and lifespan
Within the time frame mating season elephants are not strictly designated. However, it has been observed that during the rainy season, the birth rate of animals increases. During the period of estrus, which lasts no more than two days, the female attracts the male for mating with her cries. They stay together for no more than a few weeks. At this time, the female can move away from the herd.
Interestingly, male elephants can be homosexual. After all, the female mates only once a year, and her pregnancy lasts quite a long time. Males need sexual partners much more often, which leads to same-sex relationships.
After 22 months, usually one cub is born. The birth takes place in the presence of all members of the herd, who are ready to help if necessary. After they are over, the whole family begins to trumpet, shout and announce the increase.
Baby elephants weigh approximately 70 to 113 kg, are about 90 cm tall and are completely toothless. Only at the age of two years do they develop small milk tusks, which will be replaced by molar tusks with age.
A newborn elephant calf needs more than 10 liters of mother's milk per day. Until two years of age, it constitutes the child’s main diet, and little by little the baby begins to eat plants.
They may also feed on their mother's feces to make it easier to digest plant branches and bark. Baby elephants always stay close to their mother, who protects and teaches him. And you have to learn a lot: drink water, move with the herd and control the trunk.
Working with a trunk is a very difficult task, constant training, lifting objects, obtaining food and water, greeting relatives, and so on. The mother elephant and members of the entire herd protect the babies from attacks and.
Animals become independent at the age of six. At 18 years of age, females can give birth. Females give birth to babies approximately once every four years. Males become mature two years later. In the wild, the life expectancy of animals is about 70 years, in captivity - 80 years. The oldest elephant, who died in 2003, lived to be 86 years old.
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