Explore the African elephants in their habitats; the African elephants are the largest land mammal and a member of big five with buffalo, rhinos, lions and leopards. African elephants a classified in three species that the African savannah elephants, forest African elephants and the Asian elephants which found in Asia continent. African savannah elephants are the biggest species among the three species and easily seen in savannah parks like Murchison falls, Kidepo valley and Queen Elizabeth national parks in uganda, Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater, Tarangire, Arusha, Nyerere national parks in Tanzania, Maasai Mara game reserve, Nairobi, Nakuru, Amboseli national parks, and forest elephants are mostly in Kibale and Bwindi impenetrable forest national parks.
Elephant species are distinguished according to their ears such as the Asian elephant their ears resembles the map of Asian continent and the African elephants their ears also resembles the map of Africa.
Elephant can live for more than 70 years in the wild, they form deep family bonds and live in a tight matriarchal family group related by females and their young ones called a herd, the male’s forms their bachelor herd and join the female herd for mating. The herd is led by the oldest and often largest female in the herd it’s called matriarch. The herd is consist of 15-150 individuals depending the availability of water and food this will determine the size of a herd.
The African savannah elephants are the large land mammal on earth and have distinctly massive body, large ears, and very long trunks, they use their trunks to pick up the objects, trumpets, warning, and greet other elephants, even they the trunk to drink water, birthing, collect food among others.
The behavior of elephants in the wild they are usually peaceful animals, however female may be more aggressive when the young calves are present and bulls can be exceptionally aggressive during musth and most of the elephants may become very aggressive when it’s sick, injured and harassed in their habitat.
The elephants are intelligent and special, elephants are the most intelligent animal on planet earth, and they have large brain and exhibit a wide range of complex behaviors which includes problem solving, tool use, self-awareness, and emotional capabilities.
The elephants are the kindness animals, when the elephants become distressed their ear will flap out and they will emit a low frequency sound; the herd will hear this sound and go to comfort them by stroking their trunks. This incredible gesture means that elephants can recognize their feelings just like the human being do.
Elephants eats a lot the bigger the size the more takes, the elephants can eat during and night and in hot hours they spend most their time on water source as they cool themselves, inside the elephants retina are rod free areas that allow the elephant to see different wavelength of light at night, in short, they become extremely sensitive to blue and violet light of night sky this is basically allow the elephant to see in the dark.
Elephants protect themselves with the grown tusks or extended tooth, which also serve many purposes, they are used to protect the elephant’s trunks, lift and move object, gather food, defend themselves, and strip bark up from the trees. Elephants also use their tusks to dig holes to find water from underground during drought.
The enemy for elephants, given to their tremendous size and strength and the elephants gather in groups / herds, elephants have few predators to worry about. The predators are crocodiles which wait them at the water source, lions and hyenas which are mostly prey on the young ones and the sick elephants.
Elephants see human being as another species, most of elephants live in the wild and human as another species often a dangerous species, some elephants are kept in captivity and see human as oppressors to be feared and obeyed only until they can successfully rebel.
Elephants exhibit the sensitive response to the emotional state of others multiple means {touch, sight, smell, taste and sound}, selflessness grows out of empathy, suffer costs to one and benefiting other.
Elephants feed on, small plants, grasses, fruits, twigs, brunches, tree barks and roots. Tree barks a favorite source of for the elephants, it contain calcium and roughage which aids digestion. Tusks are used to carve into the trunk and tear off strips of barks.
Elephant’s drink a lot of water, the elephants drinks a lot the bigger the size the more it takes, it can take up 150litres of water a day. They use their trunks to suck water and use same trunk to spray water into their mouth to drink, the trunk takes 12-16 liters of water at once. The trunks are a combination of elephants nose and upper lips, used as a tool to smell, touch, grip and hold.
An elephant is afraid of, the ultimate charismatic mega fauna, the largest of land mammals, the mega herbivores that can radically change their environments and these creature are afraid of tiny insects that is the bees. And where are in danger from humans, this fear is being used to save their lives.
African elephant can understand and distinguish human languages, the genders and ages associated with danger. Humans are among the very few animals that constitute a threat to elephants yet not all people are a danger and the elephants tend to know it according to their ages.
Elephants are majestic creatures, which grows up to 3m at the shoulder height and weigh up to 6.3tones (6300kg), which make the African elephant the heaviest and biggest land mammal on the planet earth, the average life expectancy of the African savannah elephants is 70-80 years in the wild but can go up to 100 years in protected area like zoo. While their smaller relative the Asian elephant has life expectancy of about 60 years in the wild.
Their elephants gestation period, since the elephants are well known for their immense size and intelligence, and they also have the distinction of the longest gestation period of all any other creature / mammal , lasting for 22 months almost 2 years. This extended pregnancy allows the baby elephant to develop significantly before entering a world full of challenges.
Mating in elephants, since the female elephants live in their society matriarchal and the herd is dominated by old females, the bulls live alone in their bachelor herd / group, joining the herd of females when they are in season. A cow female elephant can mate with many males during her estrus.
