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There were times when the kings of nature were creatures much larger than us - real prehistoric giants! And one of them still lives on Earth, can you imagine?
We are in website We can’t choose what we would like more - ride a Paraceratherium or fly a Quetzalcoatlus.
Amphicelia
Amphicelia is the largest animal that has ever existed on Earth. These herbivorous dinosaurs lived 145–161 million years ago. One amphicelia vertebra was 2.5 meters long.
Titanoboa
Titanoboa is a close relative of the boa constrictor. But much, much more. Titanoboa lived 58–61 million years ago and reached 13 meters in length. The modern reticulated python can grow to a maximum of 7.5 meters.
Megalodon
Megalodons were apex predators that lived 3–28 million years ago. The megalodon tooth alone barely fits in the hands of an adult. Its length could reach 20 meters, and its weight reached 47 tons. The megalodon's bite force was 10 tons!
Argentavis
Argentavis lived 5–8 million years ago. This is one of the largest birds in the entire history of the Earth. Its wingspan reached almost 7 meters, and it ate rodents.
Bighorn deer
Big-horned (Irish) deer appeared a couple of million years ago. When forests began to encroach on open spaces, big-horned deer became extinct - with their huge (more than 5 meters in span) antlers, they simply could not move among the dense branches.
Giant short-faced bear
The giant short-faced bear (bulldog bear), when erect, reached a height of 3.5–4.5 meters and had incredibly powerful jaws. It was one of the largest predatory mammals that lived on Earth during the Ice Age. Males were significantly larger than females and could reach a weight of 1.5 tons. 14 thousand years ago, bulldog bears became extinct.
Gigantopithecus
Gigantopithecus is the largest ape of all time. They lived about 1 million years ago. It is difficult to draw clear conclusions from the rare remains, but scientists believe that Gigantopithecus was 3–4 meters tall, weighed 300–550 kg and ate mainly bamboo.
Paraceratherium
Paraceratherium (indricotherium) lived 20–30 million years ago. They are relatives of modern rhinoceroses, but they did not have horns. Paraceratherium is one of the largest land mammals that has ever existed. They reached 5 meters in height and weighed up to 20 tons. Despite their impressive appearance, they were not predators and fed on leaves and tree branches.
Elephants are the largest land animals. These amazing animals have a powerful trunk, with which they do almost everything. Here are some interesting facts about elephants.
So, the most interesting facts about elephants:
- Like dolphins, elephants can easily communicate with each other using low-frequency signals and noises that the human ear cannot recognize.
- An elephant's heart can weigh up to 30 kg, but because it is so large it only beats about 30 beats per minute.
- September 22 is the official elephant protection day.
- As a rule, elephants live no more than 70 years, although there are also centenarians among them.
- Elephants carry their young for 22 months, the longest gestation of any land creature.
- Elephants cannot jump or run fast, but they are excellent swimmers and feel good in the water.
- The largest elephant in history is considered to be an elephant named Jumbo, who was born in 1861 and died after a collision with a train. At the time of his death he was 24 years old and 4 meters tall.
- There are 2 types of elephants - Asian and African. Although, of course, each species has several more subspecies (African savannah elephant or, for example, Asian bush elephant, etc.)
- As a rule, elephant herds consist mainly of relatives and can number hundreds and sometimes thousands of individuals.
- Elephants are very developed and intelligent animals. They tend to help each other in any situation, to take care when someone gets sick. They also tend to rejoice and generally experience emotions, and even feel sad when someone from their herd dies.
- At the beginning of the 20th century, two public executions of elephants were carried out. In 1903, Topsy the elephant was electrocuted for trampling 3 people. 13 years later, another elephant named Big Mary was executed for a similar crime. They decided to execute her by hanging on a crane.
- Another very wonderful and interesting fact. Ivory is not just a name for elephant tusks. In addition to them, this term refers to hippopotamus tusks and walrus tusks. Mammoth tusks and even sperm whale teeth. It's all ivory.)
- If you look at an elephant's foot using an x-ray, you can see that it walks as if on its toes, i.e. on tiptoes and his heel raised. Thus, the entire load goes on the fingers, and this entire massive leg inside practically consists of fat alone.
- Elephants drink on average 100-200 liters per day, and their trunk can hold up to 8 liters of water.
- The elephant spends most of its time eating (about 16 hours).
These animals are considered very large, but good-natured. The largest elephant in the world is Yosya from the Safari Park in Ramat Gan (Israel). Its size reaches 3 meters and 75 centimeters. Today he is recognized as the largest elephant in the world.
There are 3 species and 2 genera of these animals: African and Indian elephants. African elephants can be divided into forest elephants and savanna elephants. It is also interesting that crossing African and Indian elephants is impossible, since they are completely different individuals. Male African elephants are slightly larger than Indian elephants.
Elephants have many mysteries and secrets. the fact that these animals have a unique nature and habits that distinguish them from other animals. And even not the largest and most beautiful elephant in the world is able to surprise others with the peculiarities of its nature. Here are some interesting facts that are known about these animals today.
1. Each elephant's ears have a different shape. There are no two elephants in the world with the same ears, although, at first glance, it may seem that this is not the case.
3. Elephants can talk. True, at very low frequencies that the human ear is not capable of perceiving. And their speech is very similar to human speech. In conversation, elephants are capable of conveying many low sounds and intonations and expressing emotional states.
4. The heart of an adult elephant can beat about 30 times per minute. The average weight of this organ is 30 kilograms. For comparison, the human heart beats about 70 times per minute.
5. The average life expectancy of an elephant is 80 years. At the same time, up to 50 years of age they are able to produce offspring.
6. Female Indian elephants do not have tusks.
7. Elephants eat exclusively plant foods. These animals usually spend a lot of time eating, sometimes eating for about 16 hours every day.
8. The pregnancy of a female elephant lasts a little less than 2 years. Typically this period is 22 months. A newborn elephant weighs about 100 kilograms. At the same time, all the elephants in the herd rejoice at the birth of the baby and depict emotions similar to joy.
9. A female elephant can only conceive a baby elephant for a few days a year.
10. Elephants can be vindictive, despite their outward good nature. These animals do not forgive insults and can remember them after many years. When angry, an elephant can be very dangerous and trample its offender. At the same time, he will not chase his prey, but can behave very aggressively if it approaches him.
11. Elephants have the largest brain among all mammals - it weighs about 5 kilograms.
12. These animals never abandon their elephants. If the mother dies, then other elephants in the herd begin to inspect them until they grow up.
13. Even if an elephant falls into a hole, other animals help him get out. They begin to lower their trunks into the hole and gradually help the poor fellow out. However, there are cases when an elephant, left without a trunk, can survive. The flock does not leave him and feeds him like a child. The elephant itself will not be able to feed without a trunk.
14. Elephants always live in packs. These are collective animals that always help each other. However, in rare cases there are solitary elephants. They are very aggressive and dangerous, including to humans.
15. Elephants are only aggressive if they feel pain. An animal with a broken tusk, like any wounded one, can be very aggressive and attack a person. The elephant is very dangerous. Such individuals do not join the pack and, if they manage to survive, they again become ordinary elephants and are no different from other animals.
16. From the outside, elephants may seem very slow and clumsy, but this is not so. If an elephant wants to eat or bathe in a river, then it becomes incredibly active and its movements are quite light.
17. African elephants often become victims of poachers, because their tusks are worth their weight in gold. However, hunting them was banned 50 years ago. It is for this reason that their birth rate has risen today. Now the ban on killing them remains in some countries.
18. In India, it is customary to decorate elephants with ribbons, flowers, beautiful and expensive fabrics. And the animals don’t resist this one bit.
19. In reserves where there are elephants, it is undesirable to cross their path. They can easily turn over your car with just their trunk.
20. The African elephant, unlike the Asian one, has tusks, and the shape of the ears is slightly different.
21. Elephants love water treatments. They pour water on themselves with their trunk, like a fountain. This helps them escape the heat, since elephants do not have sweat glands.
What do elephants like?
Even the elephant in the world loves sweet oranges, mangoes and other fruits. Therefore, those who visit the zoo can take a couple of bright fruits with them. Usually elephants happily accept such gifts and are very happy about oranges, like children about sweets.
The largest elephant in the world The elephant is considered the largest animal living on earth - it boasts an excellent memory and can distinguish simple songs. In general, it lends itself well to training. Did you know that there is an elephant that can paint an entire picture using its own trunk?
What is the biggest elephant? A massive body, huge ears, a long trunk and a pair of tusks, although the latter are not common to everyone. These colossi chose Africa and India as their residence. Elephants often take mud showers - this is how they escape from annoying insects. The mud, when dried, forms a crust, which, like a shell, protects its thick skin. It is officially recorded that the largest elephant weighs 12,000 kg. Usually their weight does not exceed eight thousand kilograms.
There is a great demand for tusks in the jewelry industry - they are used to make original jewelry that is very popular. Poachers during the hunt are not stopped by the fact that elephants are included in the Red Book. In India, elephants are used to facilitate labor - elephants make good vehicles, especially in difficult places. This type of treatment of animals is not practiced on the African peninsula.
Elephants' diet consists of plants; they can chew tree bark. They prefer to eat carrots; they are unlikely to resist an apple. Elephants have a terrible sweet tooth, and are able to stand for as long as they like near the fence of the enclosure in the hope that they will be treated to a sweet delicacy. FROM a large amount of sweets, animals not only get fat, but also become dependent on sweets.
Asian elephants
There are three known species of elephants living in Azi - Sri Lankan, Indian, Sumatran. Of the Sri Lankan individuals, the most prominent is the elephant, 3.5 m high and weighing 5.5 tons. He lives on the island after which he is named. The Indian elephant is not uncommon; it can be found in any Asian country. Weighs no more than 5 tons. The smallest Sumatran is 2.5 m tall and weighs three tons.
African elephant
These are the largest animals on the planet. In nature, there are two types of African elephants - savannah and forest. The first of them can weigh up to eight tons and grow up to four meters, the latter are inferior to them in their parameters - no more than five tons and three meters in height. These are very friendly animals; fights and quarrels rarely occur between relatives. Usually they live in one large herd, take care of the cubs, and do not abandon the sick in trouble. During mating, due to increased testosterone levels, elephants can show aggression, and only during this period can one elephant injure another representative of its genus. Relations with females are tender - having looked after a couple, the elephants move a short distance from the herd and there, far from prying eyes, they indulge in mutual caresses.
Until the baby elephants are five years old, they are under the tireless attention of their mother; upon reaching 15 years old, the elephant becomes an adult. In the savannah, young elephants are in danger - lions. One of the largest elephants is capable of eating 100 kg of grass - often these good-natured creatures cause the death of bushes and trees. Due to the destruction of green spaces, shooting of these large animals was allowed. The average life age of an African giant is 60-70 years. Unlike their Indian relatives, African dogs are much less amenable to training.
Yossi the Elephant
The largest elephant in the world lives in the Safari Zoo, located in Israel. He has reached a very respectable age - he is 32 years old, but continues to grow and can hardly squeeze through the gate leading to the yard - in order to overcome it, the elephant has to crouch - this is the only way he can go for a walk. Experts believe that this kind of exercise only benefits the animal. An elephant named Yossi became the tallest elephant ever to live in captivity. Now his height is 3.7 m. His weight is 6 tons, the elephant’s tail is 1 meter, the trunk is 2.5 meters, ears = 1.2 meters. According to assumptions, the reasons for growth lie in genes. An important factor is nutritious food.
Since ancient times, people have learned to use elephants for heavy work - transporting heavy loads and people. They repeatedly took part in bloody battles. But you should not put an unbearable burden on an elephant - an elephant is not omnipotent and is not capable of lifting a load that is more than a quarter of its weight.
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. The African elephant is quite tall - 4 meters. This type of elephant has quite large and pronounced tusks. In males, the tusks are large - up to three meters; in females they do not reach even a meter. The trunk of elephants is formed by the fusion of the 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 has smaller ears and less pronounced tusks. Some females have no tusks at all. The elephant also feeds on grass and 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.
Read also on Vovet.ru:
- Animals of Australia. What animals live in Australia?
- Animals of the jungle of Brazil. What animals live in the jungles of Brazil?
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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 (savanna elephants) and living in tropical forests (forest elephants).
African and Indian elephants differ in body structure
and disposition.
These differences are large enough that crossing elephants of two different species does not produce 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 a family group of two to five, sometimes more, elephants related by family relationships (most often this is an old female 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, all these animals over the next twenty-six million years spread throughout Africa and Eurasia, and over time, throughout North and South America. Different climatic conditions and habitats have led to the emergence of different species of 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 a 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 came 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, native to southern North America, was the largest mammoth: 4.5 meters (15 feet) at the shoulder.
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.
Information sent by: Malyakina Z. E. MGAVMiB im. K.I. Scriabin.
Types of elephants
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
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.
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 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. 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.
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: A well-developed sense of smell surpasses that 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. You will find a more detailed description of the elephant's trunk 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 that also has tusks is the 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).
. Features of elephants
. General characteristics of elephants
. Anatomy of an elephant
. Why does an elephant need a trunk and tusks?
. Sensitive Organs
. elephant body
. Reproductive system of a female elephant
. Male reproductive system
. Elephant digestive system
. How many fingers does an elephant have?
. Elephants mating
. Elephant feet
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