African Elephant

Fact Sheet

Common Name: African Elephant

Scientific name: Laxodonta Africana

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Genus: Luxodonta

Species: Africana

Where to Find the African Elephant

Found in Congo Kitunyaro, Maasai Steppe, Samburu, Zambezi. They live in nearly any habitat that has adequate quantities of food and water characteristics, from dense forests to open plains.

In Uganda they are found spread throughout the country though the highest population is in Murchison Falls National Park. They are also found in Semliki, Kidepo Valley, Mt. Elgon and Queen Elizabeth National Parks

What the African Elephant Eats

They eat an extremely varied vegetarian diet including grass, leaves, twigs, bark, fruit and seed ponds. They consume 5% of their body weight and drink 30-50 gallons of water per day. Have a lifespan of 60-70 years.

How to Identify the African Elephant

The African elephant is the largest living mammal its muscular truck is perhaps the most extra-ordinary services as a nose, hard, extra foot, signaling device for gathering food siphoning water dusting and digging. Both females and males have tasks and are right or left tusked, using the favored task more often tusks differ in size, shape and angle. Weigh 3.5 – 6.5 tons.

Behavior

The elephant is distinguished by its high level of intelligence interesting behavior, methods of communication and social structure elephants are very social, frequently touching and caressing one another and entwining the trunks. They seem to be fascinated with the task and bones of dead elephants, fondling and examining them. The myth they carry them to secret elephant burial grounds.

Elephants are gregarious and form small family groups consisting of an older matriarch and several generations of relatives. These formally groups are often resisted by mature males who check for females in estrus smell is the most highly developed sense but sound deep growing or stumbling noises is the principle means of communication. Gestation is about 22 months.