ELEPHANTS

ELEPHANTS

• Elephants are large land mammals.

• Largest land mammal now living.

• Elephants belong to the Elephantidae family.

• There are three species of Elephants living today.

- The African Bush Elephant.

- The African Forest Elephant.

- The Asian Elephant.• All other species are extinct.

Asian Elephant Calf

ELEPHANTS

• Elephants live for 50 – 70

years.• The oldest recorded

Elephant lived for 82 years.• At birth an Elephant Calf

can weigh 120 kilograms.• The largest Elephant

recorded weighed 11,000

kilograms.• Female Elephants stay

pregnant for 22 months.

ELEPHANTS• Proboscis is the Elephants

trunk.• A fusion of the nose and upper

lip.• The trunk is elongated and

specialized to become the Elephants most important appendage.

• African Elephants have two finger like projections at the tip of the trunk, Asians have only one.

• Elephants trunk is strong enough to rip a trunk from a tree or to pick up a single blade of grass.

ELEPHANTSTHE AFRICAN ELEPHANT

• The Elephants of the genus Loxodonta.• Two species – Savanna & Forest • Found in 37 countries in Africa.

• Larger than the Asian Elephant and have a concave back.• Much larger ears than Asian Elephants.

• Males and Females have tusks.• Less hairy.

• Between 470,000 – 690,000 African Elephants in the wild.

ELEPHANTSTHE ASIAN ELEPHANT

• Elephas Maximus – is the smaller Elephant.• Several subspecies of Elephas Maximus.

• Only males have tusks.• Also called Indian Elephants.• Population of around 60,000.

• Between 14,500 – 15,300 domesticated Elephants in Asia