African Bush Elephant Facts

African bush elephants dwell in savanna grasslands and are also referred to as savanna elephants. They come under the classification phylum Chordata, order Proboscidea. They are mammals and belong to class Mammalia and are from family Elephantidae, which comes under kingdom Animalia. They live in savanna or bush areas and hence, the name.

Details on the African Bush Elephant

Experts are still debating on whether to make a distinction between African bush elephants and African forest elephants or group them under a single name of 'African elephants'. However, there is lack of evidence to support the classification. Here are some quick facts about them:

• Their scientific name is Loxodonta africana. Their natural habitat extends from deserts of Sahara to the southern tip of Africa.
• They are the second largest living animal on Earth, after the blue whale.
• They can weigh more than 8 tons. Their length is in the range of six meters to seven and half meters (approximately 20 to 25 feet). They can reach a height of more than 4 meters, or approximately 13 feet.
• African bush elephants have large brains (5 kg), compared to their cousins dwelling in Asia and are more intelligent.
• They are more wrinkled and have larger ears, than the African forest elephants and Asian elephants.
• They are herbivorous animals and spend most of their day eating grass and branches of trees and fruits. Their digestive system is weak, and they can digest only up to 40% of their food.
• Adult male elephants or 'bulls' rarely walk with their herd. Matriarchs or eldest females or 'cows', leads the herd comprising young calves and female relations. Adult males wander lonely and unite only for mating.
• Females emit low frequency sound waves or 'calls', to attract males. These calls can cover an area of up to 50 square kilometers. Bull elephants ejaculate strong smelling urine to attract compatible females.
• Gestation period in elephants is of 23 months, which is slightly longer than Asian elephants who have a gestation period of 22 months.
• Man is their only 'predator'. However, young calves can fall prey to hyenas, lions, leopards and even, crocodiles.
• They are often are hunted for economic value of their tusks, skin and bones. Even though ivory poaching and its sale is banned, the elephants continue to be hunted.
• Savanna elephants can run fast and are excellent swimmers; however they cannot jump.
• They use their trunk, which has 40,000 muscles, as a tool to hold water. They can drink 10 to 15 liters of water at a time and generally drink 200 liters in a day.
• They can smell the presence of underground water.
• The trunk of this largest terrestrial animal weighs 140 kilograms, while its tongue and heart weighs 12 and 22 kilograms, respectively.
• Musth secretion is a periodic condition in male elephants and is accompanied by rise in reproductive hormones.
• Bush elephants are emotional creatures that can cry, laugh and play. They grieve at the death of their young ones and adults.
• They may reach up to 70 years of age. However, records shows that one of them lived for 82 years.
• On an average, their newborn elephant calf weighs 100 kilogram.
• Botswana has the largest population of elephants, than anywhere else in the world.
• An African bush elephant emits approximately about 2,000 liters of methane gas everyday.

These elephants, because of their declining population, are listed as endangered species. They are quite interesting and one will have to go on an African safari, to understand the importance of this animal in the wildlife conservation movement.