The gentle giant, the Elephant is one of Africa’s Big 5; the
five animals that everyone comes to Africa seeking to see on a safari. These
glorious creatures include the African elephants, Cape buffaloes, Lions,
Leopards and Rhinoceroses. They are so called the Big 5 because in the past
they were listed to be the most dangerous animals to hunt by foot.
Elephants are well known to be the largest land mammals to
walk the planet. African elephants are slightly larger than the Asian version,
also having larger ears.
These majestic animals can live a lengthy life of 70 years
in the wild savannah's of Africa. A similarity they have to us mere mortals is
in the way that they prefer one tusk over another, making them right or left
tusked.
They have been documented to be able to feel emotions such
as anger, joy and even the worst sentiment of all, sorrow.
Habitat
They can be seen throughout the savannah's in sub-Saharan
Africa, through to the rain forests of central and West Africa. There are
elephants in the northern most part of the continent, in Mali’s Sahel Desert.
Behaviour
Groups are matriarchal being led by the oldest female who
with an impressive memory like an elephant, holds the knowledge to pass onto
generations and is in charge of the group’s survival. The females known as cows
live together with their youngsters while the adult males (bulls) prefer to
roam the plains unaccompanied.
They like to have showers using their impressive trunks to
suck up water and spray it all over themselves, afterwards they might throw
some sand over their skin which acts as sunblock against the harsh African sun.
It has been discovered that elephants can communicate by making
a rumble that is able to travel far over the ground. The other elephants
receive these messages through their feet and trunks.
They are loving and social animals which develop close bonds
for one another within the family. Elephants show affection by wrapping their
trunks together which is their version of a hug. They have a meaningful
greeting ceremony, when an elephant buddy has returned from being away for a
long time, they show their joy by trumpeting, flapping their ears and giving
hugs.
Diet
They munch up to 136 kg’s (300 lbs) in a day! They enjoy the
delicacies of roots, grasses, fruit and bark, as well as eating off of shrubs
and trees. Elephants have been known to be mischievous and eat the crops that have
been grown by farmers such as bananas and sugar-cane.
Reproduction
Elephants mate mostly during the raining season.
Female elephants carry their babies for almost 22 months
which is a longer pregnancy than any other mammal. They will usually give birth
to one calf every two to four years. A baby elephant is born weighing almost 91
kg’s (200 lbs) and stand at about 1 meter tall (3 feet).
When an elephant calf is born their trunk has no muscle tone
so they suckle using their mouth. It takes the baby a few months to gain full
control of their trunk and their legs. Baby elephants are known to be cute and
clumsy.
“If you do not have a memory
like an elephant, leave impressions like one.”
― Unknown
― Unknown
Did you know?
Elephants do not have great eyesight but they have an
amazing sense of smell. They use their trunks, which have over 100 000
individual different muscles, to smell, breathe, trumpet, and drink. At the end
of their impressive trunks there are two finger-like features they use by
pinching the opposing ends together to grab small objects.
They are the only mammals that
can’t jump, but they can swim using their trunk as a snorkel in deep water.
Their feet come equipped with
soft padding which helps to hold their weight and prevent them from slipping.
It is because of this padding that elephants are discreet walkers.
-Keira
