Page 56 - Present Day Wildlife_Float

Elephants are the largest living land animals and are the only members of
the family Elephantidae. To date there is only three recognised species: the African bush elephant
(Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), and the Asian elephant
(Elephas maximus). There is three recognised subspecies of the Asian Elephant, the Sri Lankan, In-
dian, and Sumatran Elephant, and one subspecies, not fully recognise, the Borneo pygmy elephant.
Only one, present day, hybrid species between an African and Asian elephant, the Motty Elephant, is
known. It was born in captivity, but died
shortly after birth. Both the Forest and
Bush elephants are found only in Africa,
and the Asian species in South Asia, and
Southeast Asia. Of the three recognised
species the Bush elephant( often referred
to as the Savanna elephant) is the larg-
est, standing around 304 to 336 cm in
height, with the Asian elephant being
slightly smaller. The Forest elephant is
the smallest, standing at around 261 to
289 cm tall.

The elephant with its massive body,
long prehensile trunk, huge curving
tusks and large rounded ears, is an ani-
mal that is instantly recognisable. This
image we have of the Elephant can be
attributed to the bush elephant, and its
huge upward curving tusks, well suited, for digging and lifting. It’s this im-
age that’s regularly used, in photographs and videos, as a representative of
all Elephants. However, this is not the case. The forest elephants’ tusks are
shorter and tend to curve downward, ideal for browsing in the crowded en-
vironment of the forest. Whereas, many of the Asian elephants, do not have
tusks, and unlike the African elephant, where both male and female have
tusks, very few Asian females have tusks. Also, the Asian elephant’s tusks
tend to be short and straight. Another difference is in the ears. The Ele-
phant’s ears are latticed with blood vessels that help keep it cool. In the Afri-
can elephant they are very large and rounded, while the Asian elephants
ears are much smaller and more square then round. One more noticeable
feature is the crown of their heads; the African elephant always has one flat
or upward curving crown while the Asian’s crown has a slight bevel in the
centre, dividing into two.

Elephants are herbivores, living on leaves, twigs, fruit, bark, grass, and
roots. Their daily food requirement is around 300 kg and 40 litres of water.
This huge daily consumption of food means the elephants can never stay in
one place too long, as resources are soon depleted, so they are constantly on
the move. A group of elephants can cover hundreds of miles in a very short
space of time in their search for food. However, they never stray too far
from a source of water.

Elephants are very sociable animals. Most female elephants live in a
group. This group, usually of related females, will watch over and take care
of any calves and is always led by a matriarch. Her knowledge of where wa-
tering holes and feeding areas are located is vital to the group who in turn
will learn from her. The female forest elephant, however, lives on her own
with her cubs, but does come together and socialise with others in feeding
areas in the forest. Male elephants usually congregate in smaller bachelor groups, but it’s not unusu-
al for older males to live on their own. Occasionally, on the savannas of Africa, groups will meet at
watering holes or feeding areas and together they can form a huge sociable herd. However, this is
only temporary, and once the feeding and socializing is over each group will move off and go its sep-
arate way.