ELEPHANTS

In Africa, the Big Five game animals are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo.

The term was coined by big-game hunters those days and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot.

ELEPHANTS

** Elephant is one of the member BIG FIVE animals of Africa 

** There are three distinct species of elephant left in the world: The Asian elephant and Africa has the Forest Elephants and Savannah Elephant species.

** The word “elephant” comes from the Greek word “elephas” which means “ivory”

** The elephant’s gestation period is 22 months, longest than any other land animal in the world. A new born baby can weigh up to  125 to 150 Kgs. The baby can stand up shortly after being born.

** The average lifespan of an elephant is from 50 to 70 years. 

** In Africa Mail & Female both has Tusks, The tusks of an elephant are modified incisors that grow throughout an elephant’s lifetime. An adult male’s tusks grow about 7 inches a year. Tusks are used to dig for salt, water and roots, to debark trees, to clear a path and occasionally in fights. 

** The elephant’s trunk is a fusion of its nose and upper lip. It is the elephant’s most important limb. The trunk is sensitive enough to pick up a blade of grass and strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. The trunk is also used for drinking – the elephant can suck up to 14 litres of water at a time and then blow it straight into its mouth, When bathing, the elephant sucks water to spray on its body. It will then spray dirt and mud on its wet coat, which will dry and act as sunscreen.

** Elephants have two gaits – a walk and a faster gait that is similar to running. They cannot jump, trot or gallop, however they can swim and use their trunk as a snorkel.

**  The elephant’s very large ears are used to radiate excess heat away from the body.

** Elephant behavior is associated with a unique animal intelligence that displays grief, altruism, compassion, self-awareness, play, art and music

** There is a structured social order in the elephant’s lifestyle. The females spend their entire lives in tight family groups made up of mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and daughters. The eldest female normally leads the group. Adult males prefer to live a bachelor lifestyle.