The Majesty Of African Elephants

Rumbling through the jungles of Africa, the elephant is an emperor without any competitor

. Not even the lion will dare the trumpeted-giant unless it wants risk a very deep gash in its belly from incredibly sharp ivory tusks. Apart from the Asian elephants, elephants in Africa are the other most important members of the family. The African elephants are divided into two subclasses. There is the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant. The latter is smaller than the former but it is still the third largest land-based mammal.

Of all the living terrestrial animals, the African elephant is the largest. The males can weigh more than 5 tons (5,000 kg) and even reach an incredible 4 meters in shoulder height. But the elephant is not just all about the massive frame as there are other spectacular features. These include the large fan-shaped ears which are highly-vascularized and assist greatly in heat loss. The African elephant also has one of the thickest skins of all animals, while the nose and the upper lip of the animal forms a flexible and elongated tubular structure known as the trunk. The trunk is also referred to as the proboscis and it functions like fingers, so well and precisely that it can be used to pick up a peanut.

By nature, the African elephant is herbivorous, feeding mainly on leaves, roots, branches and stems. An average African elephant can take as much as 250 kg or even more of leaves in just 24 hours! In order to be able to do this very well and survive on a diet based on plants, there is a set of teeth that is constantly replaced throughout a lifetime. In a case where the elephant is not able to replace the worn-out teeth as a result of old age, the elephant inevitably dies of hunger and starvation.

Just as the name implies, the primary range of distribution of the African elephant is the African continent, especially in its western, eastern and southern regions. In the eastern African nation of Kenya and those of southern Africa like Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, the elephant is one of the most crucial components of the tourism industry which brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to the government. Safaris are some of such avenues in which tourists come into the continent to enjoy wonderful views of the massive but gentle giants of Africa -the elephants.

The elephant society can be defined as an agglomeration of families. A typical family unit is made up of around a dozen individuals but the catchy thing about these families is that they are usually led by aged female, referred to as the matriarch -an appropriate name by all estimates. Family and communal bonds are quite strong among elephants and it is quite common for grandiose expressions of emotion to be seen in these animals, especially with the loss of a close relative. African elephants are also known to have devised some of the most ingenious plans for communicating over long distances.

by: Dave

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