African bush elephant - Facts and Information

The African bush elephant is that the largest land mammal within the world. African bush elephants are herbivores and wish to eat about 350 pounds of vegetation daily.

Quick Facts

Common Name	African bush elephant
Scientific Name	Loxodonta africana
Class	Mammalia
TOP SPEED	40 KM/H
POPULATION SIZE	ABOVE 15,000
Conservation status	Vulnerable (Population increasing) Encyclopedia of Life
Size (L)	Male: 3.2 m (Adult), Female: 2.2 – 3.4 m (Adult)
Weight	Male: 6,000 kg (Adult), Female: 3,000 kg (Adult)
LIFE SPAN	60-70 YRS

Distribution

Savanna elephant primarily occurs in grassy plains and bushlands of 37 countries in eastern and southern Africa.

Geography

CONTINENTS:- Africa
SUBCONTINENTS:- Sub-Saharan Africa
COUNTRIES:- Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso , Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Ivory Coast , Equatorial Guinea , Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland

Habits and Lifestyle

Savanna elephants live in a rather complex social hierarchy. These animals gather into family units, consisting of about 10 females and their offspring. Reaching maturity, male calves usually leave the family unit, forming bachelor herds or living solitarily. As a general rule, males socialize with these family groups only when mating. Meanwhile, several family herds may gather together, making up a 'clan'. Each clan is dominated by a female matriarch, and can consist of as many as several hundred elephants. African bush elephants are very careful and protective animals. Allomothering is a common practice in this species: females can raise calves of other females of their herd. They protect and care for calves of the herd, while all adults are sleeping. If a calf strays too far, these allomothers are responsible for retrieving the baby. These active animals are constantly on the move. These elephants forage during the daytime hours, wandering the home range of their herd. Savanna elephants freely communicate with conspecifics both verbally and non-verbally.

Diet and Nutrition

These herbivorous animals mainly feed on leaves, roots, bark, grasses, fruit and other vegetation.

Population threats

This elephant is currently threatened by poaching for its ivory fetches, which are highly valued in black markets in Asian countries as well as the United States. In addition, war and over-exploitation of natural resources usually cause increased poaching for their meat. African bush elephants frequently inherit conflict with people as a results of growing human population: thus, about 70% of their range lie outside the protected areas, due to which they often damage agriculture and water supplies, resulting in injuries and even mortality in both people and elephants. On the other hand, growing human population combined with land conversion is one of the biggest threats to the population of this species, causing fragmentation of their natural habitat.

Population number

According to the Wikipedia resource, the total number of the African bush elephants today is more than 15,000 individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers are increasing.

Ecological niche

African bush elephants play a big role within the local ecosystem. Due to reducing tree density within their range, these animals maintain the ecosystem of savanna and open woodland, helping many plants and animals survive. Due to digging, they make holes in dry riverbeds; they usually dig or enlarge caves when looking for salt, thus creating shelter for various animals.

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