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African Elephant
Ecology
Physical Description
© Martin HARVEY / WWF-Canon
African elephants are the world's largest terrestrial mammals. Their trunk, an extension of the upper lip and nose, is used for communication and handling objects, including food. They have two opposing extensions at its end, in contrast to the Asian elephant which only has one. Another notable feature of this species are their large ears (those of Asian elephants are distinctly smaller), which allow them to radiate excess heat.
Tusks, large modified incisors that grow throughout an elephant's lifetime, occur in both males and females and are used in fights and for marking, feeding, and digging.
The body length of male African elephants ranges from 19 to 20 feet, and the shoulder height reaches about 10-12 feet. Females are smaller at 17-19 feet, with a shoulder height at 8 feet. Adult males weigh 4 tons on average and females weigh 3 tons.
More on the Ecology of the African Elephant
African elephants care for wounded individuals, and are unique in that they identify and look after elephant bones.
Diet
African elephants feed mainly on leaves and branches of bushes and trees, but they also eat grasses, fruit, and bark. This selection varies depending on the time of year; during the rainy season the elephants will feed more on grass than during the dry season.
Reproduction
A single calf is born every 2.5-9 years at the onset of the wet season, after a gestation period of 22 months. Females can remain fertile until 55- 60 years old.
Young elephants wean after 6 to 18 months, although they may continue nursing for over 6 years. Male elephants leave their natal group at puberty and tend to form much more fluid alliances with other males. This species is extremely long-lived (up to 70 years) and although females may reach sexual maturity at 10 years old they are mostly fertile between 25 and 45. Males need to reach 20 years of age in order to successfully compete for mating.
Social structure
The complex social structure of elephants is organized around a system of herds composed of related females and their calves. African elephant herds can form temporary aggregations, reaching over 1,000 individuals, mainly in East Africa. These associations occur during drought, human interference, or any change brought to the normal pattern of social life.
When threatened, elephants will group around young calves and the matriarch, the leader of the group. Young elephants stay with their mother for many years and are also cared for by other females in the group, especially by young females known as 'allomothers'.
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