SPECIES PROFILE

Name: the name African elephant can refer to two species: the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis).

Appearance: they both have distinctive grey skin, long tusks, and large ears. Flapping these large ears helps to keep them cool during hot weather. African bush elephants have more curved, forward-pointing tusks whereas forest elephants’ are straighter and downward pointing.

Size: African bush elephants are the largest and heaviest land animals on Earth. Reaching up to 4.0 metres tall and weighing more than 10 tonnes, they are larger than the closely related Asian elephant. Forest elephants are smaller, typically reaching around 2.5 metres.

Diet: they are herbivores typically feeding on grasses, creepers, herbs, leaves, and bark.

Did you know: the tip of the trunk of African elephants has two finger-like endings. They are highly sensitive and are controlled by around 60,000 individual muscles. This means they can be used for a range of different things including smelling, touching, feeding, drinking, dusting, producing sounds, loading, as well as defending and attacking other elephants.

Location: African bush elephants inhabit forests, grasslands, and scrublands across Africa. While forest elephants live in the humid forests of West Africa and the Congo Basin.

Where TO SEE African elephants

According to reports submitted to WildSide, you can see African elephants at the following places:

Photo credit: kolibri5 under a Creative Commons licence from Pixabay