AFRICAN ELEPHANT
Loxodonta africana

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Where to find some elephants: Savannahs, forests and river valleys in Central Africa. Asian elephants live in Southern Asia (India to Burma to Thailand).

Like eating for two: Elephants are herbivores. Depending on the season, wild elephants eat a wide variety of vegetative materials including bark, roots and fruits. They have to eat twice what they need because they digest only half of what is consumed.

Now, that's big: Elephants are the largest of all land mammals. The average male is 10 feet at the shoulders and weighs 12,000lbs.; females are usually 1 foot smaller and weigh as much as 10,000 lbs. They are totally covered in hair, which is more noticeable when they are young. The trunk is an elongation of the upper lip and nose. The tusks are incisor teeth, which are formed entirely of dentine (ivory) with no enamel; the rest of their teeth are molars (they have no canine teeth). The largest tusks recorded weighed 440 pounds, eight ounces and were 11 feet long. Elephants get six sets of teeth over their lifetime. Teeth wear away because their food is so coarse, and a new set will grow in. By 60 years of age, the last set of teeth is worn down and the elephant dies of starvation. Their large ears are used as a cooling system. By flapping their ears, elephants can cool the blood flowing through the many large blood vessels in them and transfer the cooled blood throughout their bodies.

Hey, baby: Males are called bulls and females are called cows. The gestation period is 22 months with the birth of one young; only rarely are twins born. At birth, young calves stand about four feet tall and weigh 200-260 lbs.

They are weaned between two to three years of age, when their tusks begin to get in the way of suckling. During the first five years, the young double in height and weight, but are not fully-grown until they are about 30.

You're how old? 50-60 years.

Mom is the boss: Elephant society is completely matriarchal. Herds consist of cows, calves and young bulls. When young bulls reach puberty, around 12 years of age, they are expelled from the family.

A 12-minute mile: Elephants walk up to 30 miles a day at a pace of four to five miles per hour. They can run for short distances at 24 miles per hour. They are excellent swimmers, staying underwater for hours and using their trunks as snorkels.

Don't forget to wash behind your ears! Elephants bathe frequently, not only to keep their skin in good condition, but also as a cooling mechanism. They usually bathe as a group three to four times a day. Mud baths are also used to help reduce body heat and to protect their skin from sunburn.

They have thick, elastic pads on the bottoms of their feet, which wear down naturally in the wild from constant walking. In captivity, these pads must be filed down or the elephants will lose their ability to walk.

All the better to hear you with: Elephants have poor eyesight, but their keen sense of smell and acute sense of hearing balance this. They also produce unique vocalizations. They can emit low-frequency vocal sounds that are inaudible to man (frequency range of 14-24 hertz). They can scream, trumpet, grunt, rumble and purr. All of these sounds can be magnified by the use of the trunk.

Man as enemy: Apart from man, elephants have no significant predators.

Status: In 2004 the World Wildlife Federations listed 35,00 - 58,000 Asian Elephants, and the numbers are decreasing. In 2006, the World Wildlife Federation listed 500,000 Africnan elephants in the wild.

African versus Asian elephants

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) larger ears, larger forehead, both sexes have tusks, back droops in the middle, two fingers on tip of trunk, typically four toes front - three back, lifespan 50 years in the wild (can live as long as 80 years in captivity).

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) smaller ears, smaller forehead with two big bumps, usually only males have tusks, back arches up in the middle, one finger on tip of trunk, usually five toes front- four back, lifespan 50 years (can live up to 80 years in captivity).

*Roger Williams Park Zoo is a participant in the Species Survival Program, a cooperative effort by zoos to manage the population of rare and endangered animals. Read more.

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