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Fascinating facts about African elephants at Tembe Elephant National Park in KwaZulu-Natal. Exciting photos taken while on safari.
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There are two species of elephant alive today, the African elephant and the Asiatic elephant. The African being the larger of the two. Man is the greatest threat by far. |
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Did you know?
Elephants use water to cool themselves. In extreme droughts, an elephant will even take water from its own throat to wet its ears. |
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An elephant’s eyes are very small in relation to its head. The eye contains very few photoreceptors and they cannot see very well further than a few hundred feet. |
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The elephant is the largest land mammal left on earth. An elephant consumes up to 300 to 500 pounds of vegetation per day. Elephants only digest about 40% of what they eat, and therefore, they need to spend two-thirds of every day eating.
They never stop growing throughout their lifetime and thus size is a good indicator of age - the larger the elephant, the older he or she is. Soft spongy pads on the soles of their feet absorb noise, allowing these massive beasts to move through the bush with very little commotion. |
A herd ambles at about 4 miles per hour and can charge at more than 25 miles per hour. Elephants cannot run or jump. They can however walk very fast, climb and even swim! They are far better swimmers than one would assume. They can swim considerable distances, and, when in deep water, they hold their trunks above the water like periscopes. |
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An elephant’s trunk is the most versatile of all mammalian creations being used as a nose, arm, hand and multipurpose tool. It is powerful enough to kill a lion with a single swipe, yet the finger-like lobes at the end are adept enough to pluck a feather from the ground. The trunk is boneless, and is composed of an estimated 40 000 muscles. Elephants drink about 50 gallons of water per day. They prefer water that is high in mineral content and will travel long distances to find suitable water for drinking if need be. |
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Baby elephants often insert their trunks into their mouths and suck on them - much like a human child sucks on its thumbs. Elephant’s tusks are elongated upper incisor teeth, which grow continuously throughout the elephant’s life. They are not always an exact match, as this depends on which side they favour much like left and right-handed humans. Ivory poaching almost drove elephants into extinction. Their trunks can grow as big as 10 feet in older elephants. Their tusks are a combination of enamel, dentine, cartilage and mineral deposits. Ivory is also known as
"White Gold". |
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An elephant’s ears are covered in veins, which form distinct and unique patterns which can be used to identify individuals - much like human fingerprints. An elephants ears are packed with blood vessels, and when flapped, they quickly lower the animal’s body temperature. This swiftly circulating blood is cooled by about 15 degrees Fahrenheit while in the elephant’s ear. |
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Class |
Mammal |
Genus & Species
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Loxodonta africana (African Elephant) |
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Gestation |
22 months |
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Litter |
Single calf and rarely a twin |
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Lifespan |
60 years or more |
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Elephant-Pictures.net
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Elephants can live to 60 years old, although, life spans of this length are almost unheard of in today’s times. |
An adult elephant’s heart weighs more than 25 pounds. The skin is much more sensitive than it appears. Sun, heat, insects and injuries all take their toll. An elephant counteracts with mud and sand baths which cool, protect and get rid of unwanted insects. African elephants have 5 toes on all four of its feet. Asiatic elephants have 5 toes on its front foot and four on its hind foot. |
