AFRICAN ELEPHANT




SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

COMMON NAME:

African elephant, savannah elephant

KINGDOM:

Animalia

PHYLUM:

Chordata

CLASS:

Mammalia

ORDER:

Proboscidea

FAMILY:

Elephantidae

GENUS SPECIES:

Loxodonta (slanting tooth) africana (from Africa)


FAST FACTS

DESCRIPTION:

Largest of all land mammals, with large ears, a long trunk, and large tusks

SIZE:

3-4 m (10-13 ft.) tall at shoulder; 6-7.25 m long (20-24 ft.)

WEIGHT:

3200-6400 kg (7000-14000 lb.); females are smaller

DIET:

Herbivore that eats all types of vegetation such as grasses, leaves, fruits, and bark

GESTATION:

22-24 months

SEXUAL MATURITY:


MALE

10-20 years (bulls)

FEMALE

10-11 years (cows)

LIFE SPAN:

Up to 70 years

RANGE:

sub-Saharan Africa; There is a distinct sub-species, the forest elephant, found in the tropical forests of central Africa.

HABITAT:

Found in forests, grasslands, marshes, scrub, and semi-desert areas

POPULATION:

GLOBAL

No data

STATUS:

IUCN

Vulnerable

CITES

Appendix II

USFWS

Threatened




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