These groups appear to interact with each other, especially at forest clearings. [84] Females have also been observed with these secretions. [2], Elephants belong to the family Elephantidae, the sole remaining family within the order Proboscidea. [37] The skull is built to withstand great stress, particularly when fighting or when using the tusks. [106][107] Older bulls act as the leaders of these groups. [58] In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. In the past, they were used in war; today, they are often controversially put on display in zoos, or exploited for entertainment in circuses. This highly sensitive organ is innervated primarily by the trigeminal nerve, and thought to be manipulated by about 40,00060,000 muscles. [13][14], Over 180 extinct members of order Proboscidea have been described. The skeleton is made up of 326351 bones. [45], Scientists debate the extent to which elephants feel emotion. 209231cm (6ft 10in 7ft 7in) (shoulder height), 1.72.3t (1.92.5 short tons) (weight). After the ban came into force in 1990, retail sales of ivory carvings in South Africa have plummeted by more than 95% within 10 years. The muscles of the trunk connect to a bony opening in the skull. Around 60% of the population is in India. This is followed by four more tooth replacements at the ages of four to six, 915, 1828 and finally in their early 40s. African elephants (Loxodonta) are a genus comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (L. africana) and the smaller African forest elephant (L. cyclotis). Subsequently, the US received many captive African elephants from Zimbabwe, which had an overabundance of the animals. For the first few days, the mother limits access to her young. There were 13,00016,500 working elephants employed in Asia in 2000. The first (or anovulatory) surge, appears to change the female's scent, signaling to males that she is in heat, but ovulation does not occur until the second (or ovulatory) surge. They are attracted to the bones of their own kind, regardless of whether they are related. [79] Elephants have a unique organ, the temporal gland, located in both sides of the head. As of 2008, local numbers were controlled by contraception or translocation. Both species are considered at heavy risk of extinction on the IUCN Red List; as of 2021, the bush elephant is considered endangered and the forest elephant is considered critically endangered. Female African elephants are able to start reproducing at around 10 to 12 years of age,[49] and are in estrus for about 2 to 7 days. [100] She remains leader of the group until death[93] or if she no longer has the energy for the role;[101] a study on zoo elephants found that the death of the matriarch led to greater stress in the surviving elephants. [32], Elephants are the largest living terrestrial animals. [24] The Late Miocene saw major climactic changes, which resulted in the decline and extinction of many proboscidean groups. A female African bush elephant skeleton on display at the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City 10-13 feet. .mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox{text-align:center;width:200px;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox th.section-header{text-align:center}.mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox td.section-content{text-align:left;padding:0 0.25em}.mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox td.list-section{text-align:left;padding:0 0.25em}.mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox td.taxon-section{text-align:center;padding:0 0.25em}.mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox td.image-section{text-align:center;font-size:88%}.mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox table.taxonomy{margin:0 auto;text-align:left;background:transparent;padding:2px}.mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox table.taxonomy tr{vertical-align:top}.mw-parser-output table.biota-infobox table.taxonomy td{padding:1px}. Throughout the country, 1,500 people were killed by elephants between 2019 and 2022, which led to 300 elephants being killed in kind. [63] [114] Cows over 4550 years of age are less fertile. The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth, and grasping objects. They are curved forward and continue to grow throughout the elephant's lifetime. When males permanently leave, they either live alone or with other males. They can expand their nostrils 30% around, leading to a 64% greater nasal volume, and can breathe in almost 30 times faster than a human sneeze, at over 150m/s (490ft/s). [148], African elephants receive at least some legal protection in every country where they are found. This is due to them being largely immune to predators, which would otherwise kill off many of the individuals with significant parasite loads. The Asian elephant lives in areas with some of the highest human populations and may be confined to small islands of forest among human-dominated landscapes. In the 1980s, it was difficult to carry out systematic surveys in several East African range countries due to civil wars. 60 to 70 years. [27] Fermentation of the food takes place in the hindgut, thus enabling large food intakes. The dentine is known as ivory and has a cross-section of intersecting lines, known as "engine turning", which create diamond-shaped patterns. African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) - Dimensions However, this can depend on the ranking of the male within their group, as higher-ranking males maintain a higher rate of reproduction. [142] As with chimpanzees and dolphins, a dying or dead elephant may elicit attention and aid from others, including those from other groups. In the 10th century, the people of Igbo-Ukwu in Nigeria buried their leaders with elephant tusks. [72], In 2019, the export of wild African elephants to zoos around the world was banned, with an exception added by the EU to allow export in "exceptional cases where it is considered that a transfer to ex-situ locations will provide demonstrable in-situ conservation benefits for African elephants". [149] China was the biggest market for poached ivory but announced they would phase out the legal domestic manufacture and sale of ivory products in May 2015, and in September 2015, China and the United States said "they would enact a nearly complete ban on the import and export of ivory" due to causes of extinction. Male elephants can also smell the hormones of a female ready for breeding. The first scientific description of the African elephant was written in 1797 by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, who proposed the scientific name Elephas africanus. In 1989, the African elephant was listed under Appendix I by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), making trade illegal. However, females are not guarded in the early and late stages of estrus, which may permit mating by younger males not in musth. [49] The African elephants have two finger-like extensions at the tip of the trunk that allow them to pluck small food. [149] Chili pepper products as well as guarding with defense tools have been found to be effective in preventing crop-raiding by elephants. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. [79], A male elephant's testes are located internally near the kidneys. Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate. [2] It is attested in Mycenaean Greek as e-re-pa (genitive e-re-pa-to) in Linear B syllabic script. The tusk protrudes from a socket in the skull and most of it is external. Elephants are gentle, intelligent creatures that must be protected to ensure that they remain part of our natural ecosystem for centuries to come. African elephants show sexual dimorphism in weight and shoulder height by age 20, due to the rapid early growth of males. [105], Adult males enter a state of increased testosterone known as musth. When it reaches its second week, the calf can walk with more balance and has more control over its trunk. ", "25 Things You Might Not Know About Elephants", "Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans", "Secrets of male elephant society revealed in the wild", "The maximum attainable body size of herbivorous mammals: morphophysiological constraints on foregut, and adaptations of hindgut fermenters", "Selective feeding by a megaherbivore, the African elephant ( Loxodonta africana )", "Phylogenomic analyses reveal convergent patterns of adaptive evolution in elephant and human ancestries", "Elephants know when they need assistance in a cooperative task", "In Africa, Decoding the 'Language' of Elephants", "Elephants Outwit Humans During Intelligence Test". For the African elephants, tusks are present in both males and females, and are around the same length in both sexes, reaching up to 300cm (9ft 10in),[57] but those of males tend to be more massive. [119] The penis is mobile enough to move without the pelvis. By nine months, mouth, trunk and foot coordination are mastered. [74], Many African cultures revere the African elephant as a symbol of strength and power. Unlike those of many mammals, such as cats and rats, elephant whiskers do not move independently ("whisk") to sense the environment; the trunk itself must move to bring the whiskers into contact with nearby objects. The length of this varies between males of different ages and conditions, lasting days to months. The animal's field of vision is compromised by the location and limited mobility of the eyes. A bull will follow a potential mate and assess her condition with the flehmen response, which requires him to collect a chemical sample with his trunk and taste it with the vomeronasal organ at the roof of the mouth. Elephants tend to stay near water sources. [45], The elongated and prehensile trunk, or proboscis, consists of both the nose and upper lip, which fuse in early fetal development. [72] Both the front and hind limbs can support an elephant's weight, although 60% is borne by the front. African bush elephant | Size, Habitat, & Facts | Britannica At Amboseli, no bulls under 24 were found to be in musth, while half of those aged 2535 and all those over 35 did. [151] The ivory trade contributed to the fall of the African elephant population in the late 20th century. Their habit of uprooting trees and undergrowth can transform savannah into grasslands;[90] smaller herbivores can access trees mowed down by elephants. Elephants replace their teeth four to six times in their lifetimes. Cows are 2.22.6m (7.28.5ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 2,1603,232kg (4,7627,125lb), while bulls are 3.24m (1013ft) tall and weigh 4,7006,048kg (10,36213,334lb). [24] Elephants have four molars; each weighs about 5kg (11lb) and measures about 30cm (12in) long. Between the late 18th and 21st centuries, the following extinct African elephants were described on the basis of fossil remains: Analysis of nuclear DNA sequences indicates that the genetic divergence between African bush and forest elephants dates 2.6 5.6 million years ago. [181], Elephants have a universal presence in global culture. [69] [67], Although tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive and requires mud baths to maintain moisture and protect it from burning and insect bites. Ralph Helfer is known to have relied on positive reinforcement when training his animals. They were described in Sanskrit texts as far back as 1500 BC. They replace deciduous milk teeth at 612 months of age and keep growing at about 17cm (7in) a year. African elephants have 21 pairs of ribs, while Asian elephants have 19 or 20 pairs. [189], In Western popular culture, elephants symbolise the exotic, especially since as with the giraffe, hippopotamus and rhinoceros there are no similar animals familiar to Western audiences. They may add to the display by shaking their heads and snapping their ears, as well as tossing around dust and vegetation. [38] The skull contains air cavities (sinuses) that reduce the weight of the skull while maintaining overall strength. [8] African elephants were traditionally considered a single species, Loxodonta africana, but molecular studies have affirmed their status as separate species. [140] Elephants are among the species known to use tools. Hunting for elephant ivory in Africa[60] and Asia[61] has led to natural selection for shorter tusks[62][63] and tusklessness. Likewise in Hinduism, they are linked with thunderstorms as Airavata, the father of all elephants, represents both lightning and rainbows. [35] They can eat as much as 300kg (660lb) of food and drink 40L (11USgal) of water in a day. The female's clitoris may be 40cm (16in). After a year, a calf is fully capable of grooming, drinking, and feeding itself. [22] The earliest members of modern genera of Elephantidae appeared during the latest Miocene-early Pliocene around 5 million years ago. [72][76] In walking, the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders moving up and down while the foot is planted on the ground. Elephant intelligence has been compared with that of primates and cetaceans. [192], This article is about a paraphyletic group. The Mbuti people of central Africa believe that the souls of their dead ancestors resided in elephants. [34], Elephants can move both forwards and backwards, but are incapable of trotting, jumping, or galloping. [125] Typically, only a single young is born, but twins sometimes occur. [190] The expression "elephant in the room" refers to something that is being ignored but ultimately must be addressed. Note the shorter and wider head of L. cyclotis, with a concave instead of convex forehead. Males are larger than females of comparable age. [144], African bush elephants were listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2021,[145] and African forest elephants were listed as Critically Endangered in the same year. [5] In 1936, Glover Morrill Allen considered this elephant to be a distinct species and called it 'forest elephant';[6] later authors considered it to be a subspecies. By contrast, Japan and Hong Kong, which were also part of the industry, were able to adapt and were not as badly affected. They are considered to be keystone species, due to their impact on their environments. [71], In 2005, the West African Elephant Memorandum of Understanding was signed by 12 West African countries. With a mass of just over 5kg (11lb), the elephant brain is larger than that of any other terrestrial animal. [58] Because of this muscular structure, the trunk is so strong that elephants can use it for lifting about 3% of their own body weight. Less than half of an elephant's food intake gets digested, despite the process lasting a day. They have been observed to have "nursing units" and "juvenile-care units". [46] Floppy trunk syndrome is a condition of trunk paralysis recorded in African bush elephants and involves the degeneration of the peripheral nerves and muscles. [50] Individuals may show lateral preference when grasping with their trunks: some prefer to twist them to the left, others to the right. The taming of African elephants in the Belgian Congo began by decree of Leopold II of Belgium during the 19th century and continues to the present with the Api Elephant Domestication Centre. [68], In 1989, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora listed the African elephant on CITES Appendix I. Elephants have a fissionfusion society, in which multiple family groups come together to socialise. African forest elephant populations occur only in Central Africa.[32]. They do not mate at a specific time; however, they are less likely to reproduce in times of drought than when water is plentiful. ", "The ivory trade and elephant conservation", "Le braconnage et la population d'lphants au Parc National de Zakouma (Tchad)", "Tanzania elephant population declined by 60% in five years, census reveals", "Elephants Dying in Epic Frenzy as Ivory Fuels Wars and Profits", "China and US agree on ivory ban in bid to end illegal trade globally", "African elephants run from the sound of disturbed bees", "Seasonal and spatial vulnerability to agricultural damage by elephants in the western Serengeti, Tanzania", "Status and trends of the ivory trade in Africa, 19891999", "African Elephant Specialist Group report", "Near-total ban imposed on sending wild African elephants to zoos", "Conservation with elevated elephant densities sequesters carbon in soils despite losses of woody biomass", "Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture", "Elephant Figure | Fon peoples | The Met", "Elephant caves" of Mt Elgon National Park, EIA 25 yrs investigating the ivory trade, reports etc, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_elephant&oldid=1161955017, This page was last edited on 26 June 2023, at 02:41. One trunkless elephant has been observed to graze using its lips with its hind legs in the air and balancing on its front knees. [1] The word "elephant" appears in Middle English as olyfaunt (c.1300) and was borrowed from Old French oliphant (12th century). In a population in southern India, males first enter musth at 15 years old, but it is not very intense until they are older than 25. Livraison 52 et 53", "Geographische Abarten des Afrikanischen Elefanten". [37][41] The ossicles are adapted for hearing low frequencies, being most sensitive at 1 kHz. Hunting African elephants for the ivory trade accelerated the decline from the 1970s onwards. They have a long, prehensile nose called a trunk. The fast gait does not meet all the criteria of running, since there is no point where all the feet are off the ground, although the elephant uses its legs much like other running animals, and can move faster by quickening its stride. [30] Several species of proboscideans became isolated on islands and experienced insular dwarfism,[31] some dramatically reducing in body size, such as the 1 metre (3.3ft) tall dwarf elephant species Palaeoloxodon falconeri. Previously, export had been allowed in Southern Africa with Zimbabwe capturing and exporting more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012. The coat of arms of the Republic of the Congo has two elephants supporting the shield. [79] Their temporal lobes are proportionally larger than in other animals, including humans. These . [184] The ancient Romans, who kept the animals in captivity, depicted elephants more accurately than medieval Europeans who portrayed them more like fantasy creatures, with horse, bovine and boar-like traits, and trumpet-like trunks. [85], Elephants typically coexist peacefully with other herbivores, which will usually stay out of their way. African elephant, facts and photos - National Geographic Proboscidean groups prominent during the Miocene include the deinotheres, along with the more advanced elephantimorphs, including mammutids (mastodons), gomphotheres, amebelodontids (which includes the "shovel tuskers" like Platybelodon), choerolophodontids and stegodontids. Bulls only return to the herd to breed or to socialize; they do not provide prenatal care to their offspring, but rather play a fatherly role to younger bulls to show dominance. [52], The trunk also acts as a sense organ. These animals are typically captured from the wild when they are 1020 years old when they are both more trainable and can work for more years. This leads males to compete with each other to mate, which results in the females mating with older, healthier males. [83] The penis can be as long as 100cm (39in) with a 16cm (6in) wide base. These animals were relatively small and some, like Moeritherium and Barytherium were probably amphibious. 2,000 to 6,100 kilograms (about 2 to 7 tons) Size. It relies on touch, smell, and hearing, as its eyesight is less developed. [citation needed], Males over the age of 25 compete strongly for females in estrus, and are more successful the larger and more aggressive they are. [15] The earliest proboscideans, the African Eritherium and Phosphatherium are known from the late Paleocene. They communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound; elephants use infrasound and seismic communication over long distances. [53] Wild males begin breeding in their thirties when they are at a size and weight that is competitive with other adult males. [101], Bulls engage in a behaviour known as mate-guarding, where they follow oestrous females and defend them from other males. [25], Over the course of the Early Pleistocene, all non-elephantid probobscidean genera outside of the Americas became extinct with the exception of Stegodon[22], with gomphotheres dispersing into South America as part of the Great American interchange,[26] and mammoths migrating into North America around 1.5 million years ago. Individuals may be able to remember where their family members are located. [42] They have a very large and highly convoluted neocortex, a trait they share with humans, apes and some dolphin species. Elephants are popularly thought of as having an excellent memory. Loxodonta Type: Mammals Diet: Herbivore Group Name: Herd Average Life Span In The Wild: Up to 70 years Size: Height at the shoulder, 8.2 to 13 feet Weight: 2.5 to seven tons Size relative to a. [183] Similar ideas existed among other African societies, who believed that their chiefs would be reincarnated as elephants. Relatively large and triangular ears, concave back, diamond shaped molar ridges, wrinkled skin, sloping abdomen, and two finger-like extensions at the tip of the trunk. [90] Elephants are important seed dispersers; African forest elephants consume and deposit many seeds over great distances, with either no effect or a positive effect on germination. This organ is associated with sexual behaviour, and males secrete a fluid from it when in musth. Africa, in particular, contains many examples of elephant rock art, especially in the Sahara and southern Africa. This individual was even able to score a high accuracy rating when re-tested with the same visual pairs a year later. "Age, musth, and paternity success in wild male African elephants, "The exploitation of elephants for the ivory trade: an historical perspective", "How many elephants are killed for the ivory trade? Following the bans, unemployment rose in India and China, where the ivory industry was important economically. As in heterosexual interactions, this involves mounting. The coat of arms of the Central African Republic features the head of an elephant in the upper left quadrant of the shield. [74] The circular feet of an elephant have soft tissues or "cushion pads" beneath the manus or pes, which allow them to bear the animal's great mass. [169] Elephants in European zoos appear to have shorter lifespans than their wild counterparts at only 17 years, although other studies suggest that zoo elephants live just as long. Height. Both sexes have curved tusks that develop and are rising throughout their lives. [149], The poaching of elephants for their ivory, meat and hides has been one of the major threats to their existence. Asian elephants are used to carry and pull both objects and people in and out of areas as well as lead people in religious celebrations. [103] Large family groups may split if they cannot be supported by the local resources. The brain is surrounded by arches in the skull which serve as protection. Twenty-two long observations showed that age and musth are extremely important factors; " older males had markedly elevated paternity success compared with younger males, suggesting the possibility of sexual selection for longevity in this species. Malay elephant populations have even smaller family units and do not reach levels above a bond group. The tip can be moved in a way similar to the human hand. [54], Damaging the trunk would be detrimental to an elephant's survival,[30] although in rare cases, individuals have survived with shortened ones. Loxodonta is one of two extant genera of the family Elephantidae. The trunk can also bend at different points by creating stiffened "pseudo-joints". [174], Elephants can exhibit bouts of aggressive behaviour and engage in destructive actions against humans. The long bones of the limbs have cancellous bone in place of medullary cavities. [27] At the end of the Early Pleistocene, around 800,000 years ago the elephantid genus Palaeoloxodon dispersed outside of Africa, becoming widely distributed in Eurasia. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or level backs. Loxodonta africana. In 2012, a large upsurge in ivory poaching was reported, with about 70% of the product flowing to China. For instance, a "white elephant" is a byword for something that is weird, unwanted, and has no value. Meet the World's 8 Tallest Land Animals By Noel Kirkpatrick Updated June 9, 2022 Pinterest Elephants are plenty tall even before they stand on their hind legs. [79] Connective tissue exists in place of the pleural cavity. A male African savanna elephant's tusks can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh more than 200 pounds. They are usually bluffing when performing these actions. [165] The Persians used them during the Achaemenid Empire (between the 6th and 4th centuries BC)[164] while Southeast Asian states first used war elephants possibly as early as the 5th century BC and continued to the 20th century. [41], African elephants are highly intelligent. [29] The tallest recorded individual stood 4.21m (13.8ft) at the shoulder and weighed 8,000kg (18,000lb). African forest elephants had a total loss of 43%. [167], Keeping elephants in zoos has met with some controversy. Asian elephants have some patches of depigmentation, particularly on the head. [30][51] The trunk of an adult Asian elephant is capable of retaining 8.5L (2.2USgal) of water. [90] Elephants can have a negative impact on ecosystems. At the same time, there is progress in lip and leg movements. At least one-third of the tusk contains the pulp and some have nerves which stretch even further. [183] Elephants were often difficult to portray by people with no first-hand experience of them. [123] The relatively long pregnancy is supported by several corpus luteums and gives the foetus more time to develop, particularly the brain and trunk. [157] Musth bulls are difficult and dangerous to work with and so are chained up until their condition passes. [178] Local people have reported their belief that some elephants were drunk during their attacks, though officials have disputed this. They use it for smelling, touching, feeding, drinking, dusting, producing sounds, loading, defending and attacking. African elephants have 24 teeth in total, six on each quadrant of the jaw. [31], African elephants are distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa, where they inhabit Sahelian scrubland and arid regions, tropical rainforests, mopane and miombo woodlands. The park did not have sufficient guards to combat poaching and their weapons were outdated. [56] Lin Wang, a captive male Asian elephant, lived for 86 years. [78] Many societies believed that their chiefs would be reincarnated as elephants. In Chad's Zakouma National Park, more than 3,200 elephants were killed between 2005 and 2010. [60] [19], A major event in proboscidean evolution was the collision of Afro-Arabia with Eurasia, during the Early Miocene, around 18-19 million years ago allowing proboscideans to disperse from their African homeland across Eurasia, and later, around 16-15 million years ago into North America across the Bering Land Bridge.