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Elephants
Easing competition in a fight for survival
Common Name: Elephant Elephant(Fr) Elefante(Sp)
Scientific Name: Elephas maximus (southern Asia), Loxodonta africana (Africa)
Location: Africa, Asia
Background
These large and magnificent creatures need a lot of food and freedom if they are to survive. They wander in small to large herds over sometimes incredibly large areas while consuming up to several hundred pounds of plant matter in a single day.
Elephants, in fact, place such great demands on their own environment that in order to survive, they frequently come into conflict with people who are competing for many of the same, often scarce, resources.
On the ground on two continents
In all, the problems facing elephants in Asia and Africa are varied and complex. To this end, WWF is involved in their conservation through 2 key programs which address local key issues, the realities faced on the ground, and this ever present conflict with man. These programs are:
Asian Rhinos and Elephants Action Strategy (AREAS) : This ambitious Program brings together cutting edge conservation biology with trade monitoring, socio-economic analysis, and policy advocacy, promising new hope for dwindling populations of these threatened pachyderms.
WWF African Elephant Program: The Program aims to conserve forest and savanna elephant populations across Africa by supporting projects that improve protection and management, build capacity within range states, mitigate human-elephant conflict and reduce illegal trade.
Physical Description
Elephants are identified by their massive bodies and their trunk, which is used to pick a variety of objects, including food. The head is large in relation to the rest of the body and the African species is noted for its very large ears. Hair is sparse.
The Asian elephant has four hooves (occasionally five) on the hind foot and five on the forefoot, and the African elephant has three on the hind foot and five on the forefoot.
Size
Living members of the order Proboscidea have a maximum height of nearly 12 feet and a weight of six tons or more.
Habitat
Biogeographic realm
Indo-Malayan, Afrotropical.
Geographical Location
Africa, Asia.
African Elephant
African Elephant
- Habitat: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests, Flooded Grasslands and Savannas, Miombo woodlands, Acacia savannas
- Location: Africa
- Population: 470,000 - 690,000 individuals.
Asian Elephants
Asian Elephants
- Habitat: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests, Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
- Location:
- Population: 25,600 to 32,750 individuals
Sri Lankan Elephant
Sri Lankan Elephant
- Habitat: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
- Location: Southwestern Sri Lanka
- Population: Between 3,160 and 4,405 individuals in the wild
Sumatran Elephant
Sumatran Elephant
- Habitat: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
- Location: Sumatra, western Indonesia
- Population: Approx. 2,440 to 3,350 individuals
Species News and Updates
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