The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta
Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is
Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the
African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean
(mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant
evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical
location and range of the African elephant covers all of central and southern
Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad
in Mali and Mauritania. Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda,
Zaire, and in National parks located in South Africa, as well as several other
countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan
African habitats except desert steppes. Elephants still occupy diverse habitats
such as: temperate grassland, tropical savanna and grass lands, temperate forest
and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical
deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their
migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are
restricted to protected areas. The elephant can exist in many types of
environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the
elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have
plenty of rainfall. This ensures plenty of food, shade, and water. The elephant
prefers a habitat of mixed woodland and grassland which gives them an
opportunity to eat a variety of vegetation. African Elephants are considered
herbivores, they are both browsers and grazers; they will eat rough sticks,
stems and leaves of plants as well as grasses, sedges, and fruit. Their
favorites are mangoes, berries and coconuts. An elephant eats up to 500 pounds
of vegetation every day and drinks up to 50 gallons of water daily. Elephants
must consume these giant quantities of food, due to their poor digestive system.
The small intestine is 82 feet long, the large intestine 21 feet long, and the
rectum adds a further 13 feet. The problem with the digestive tract lies in
their gut; elephants have too few symbiotic bacteria. These are the organisms
which help break down the cellulose of plant cell walls by producing enzymes
called cellulases. The most remarkable feature of the elephant’s digestive
system is its 5 feet long appendix, bigger than the stomach. Proteins, starches,
and sugars are digested in the appendix. The elephant will excrete almost 200
pounds a day of semi-digested food. Elephants live together in strong family
units which might have as few as two or as many as twenty members. When the
group gets too big, it splits up; but the groups stay in close contact. Elephant
life revolves around this unit which is usually headed by the oldest female. The
family offers protection, aid, comfort, and teaching to all of its members.
Within the units are cows, calves, and bulls. The male bulls are very solitary
and most of the time travel only with other males, except during mating season
when the bulls travel with the pack looking for a mate. The males remain with
the family unit until they are about fourteen and then leave the family to join
the other males. The African elephant usually gives birth to one calf every four
years. The gestation period is approximately twenty to twenty two years. The
newborn calf, which weighs 200-300 pounds and stands about three feet high, is
cared for by all of the females in the pack, not just by the mother. The calf
may nurse as long as eight years, or until its tusks are too long for the
mother. It takes about 14 to 15 years for an elephant to fully mature. They grow
to about 10-13 feet tall and 7.5 meters in length and weigh as much as 7 tons.
The family will remain together throughout their lives. The elephant’s body
has many special features which it has adapted throughout the centuries to help
it survive in its environment. The most important part of the elephant’s body
is its trunk. An elephant uses its trunk for many things. With it, the elephant
can pick up objects that weigh as much as 600 lbs. This powerful trunk is also
used to beat off attacking animals and sometimes mother elephants use their
trunks to swat their babies. The trunk, which is very flexible, can curl over
the elephant’s head so that the elephant can give itself showers and dust
baths. The trunk also curls towards the elephant’s mouth so it can eat and
drink. At the end of the trunk the elephant has finger-like projections similar
to the human thumb and forefinger. With this the elephant can pick up small
objects. Baby elephants often suck their trunks just like human babies suck
their thumbs. The nostrils at the tip of the trunk are highly sensitive, an
elephant can detect a water source from as far as 12 miles away, and detect the
reproductive status of another elephant from some distance. The elephant also
has tusks which can dig up roots and help the elephant dig at dried up river
beds for water. They also help the elephant fight off attackers. The tusks are
made of ivory and this is why the elephants are being poached. Poachers can earn
$5,000 for just 40 pounds of ivory tusks. Another unusual part of the
elephant’s body is its huge ears which can be four feet wide in the male
African elephant. With their huge ears the elephant can swat bugs, look fierce,
and keep itself cool. Although the ears are so big the elephant has poor hearing
and rely on their sense of smell. Since the elephant cannot sweat to release
heat, they must have another means of releasing their body heat. The elephant
will repeatedly beat its ears along the side of its head. When they do this the
blood in its ears cools and the cool blood is then circulated to the rest of the
body. The wrinkles in their skin help to increase the surface area of the
elephant, which helps in cooling, and mud and water are also trapped under the
wrinkles, further helping the elephant to keep cool. The elephant has four
molars on each side of its mouth. The molars of adult elephants are the size of
bricks. There They get six new sets of molars in a lifetime. They get their last
set when they are about 45 years old, and after those fall out the elephant will
starve to death. Elephants are highly intelligent animals. They have very large
and well-developed brains and excellent memories. Elephants have strange habits
and ways of communication. One means of communication is trumpeting. They have
different tones of trumpeting which indicate different moods, such as
playfulness and excitement. Trumpeting is also used to frighten off attackers.
Their most important way to communicate is what is called “stomach rumbles”
although the sound actually comes from its throat. Scientists have found fifteen
types of rumbles indicating different things. One rumble means for the herd to
move on, loud rumbles are used to greet family members and other rumbles help
them locate each other. Scientists even think that elephants communicate
long-distance with these rumbles, which are infrasound, low frequency waves
which travel many miles. Elephants can hear and produce low notes in the region
of 14-16 Hz, well below the range of the human ear. Elephants often communicate
a lot when they are grieving over the death of a family member. Because the
family is so important, young elephants are very upset when others die.
Elephants have been known to bury their dead with twigs and leaves and stay by
the “graves” for many hours. In 1930 there were five to ten million
elephants in Africa but because of poaching and some natural disasters (fires,
droughts) their numbers were reduced to about 1.3 million by 1976 and to about
600,000 now. The African elephant was really threatened by hunters and poachers
during the years 1978-1989 and was declared an endangered species in 1989. CITES
currently lists the African elephant on appendix I, meaning all trade regarding
this animal is prohibited. However, since 1989 it has been making a strong
comeback because of the efforts of many people and countries to protect them. In
some African countries they are now so over-populated in the lands left
available to them that scientists are trying to invent a form of birth-control
for elephants. Hunting of the elephant is banned but poaching for ivory is still
widespread. In 1989 a stack of 3,000 confiscated tusks are worth about $3
million dollars was burned by Kenya’s president. Kenya is one of the many
countries taking steps to save the elephants. In Tsavo East National Park in
Kenya a group called the Anti-poaching Rangers patrol the park. Their job is to
follow the shoot-to-kill order issues by the president.

Bibliography

Gaeth, A.P. “The Developing Renal, Reproductive, and Respiratory systems of
the African Elephant Suggest an Aquatic Ancestry.” Proceeding of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Volume 96, No 10. May 11,
1999 pg. 5555-5558 This primary source gave us information on the ancestry of
the African Elephant, such as their closest relatives. It also told us the
endangered status of the animal. Groning, Karl., and Martin Saller.
“Elephants” A Cultural and Natural History KONEMANN 1999. This source gave
us information on all aspects of the elephant’s physical composition,
specifically the digestive system, and homeostatic mechanisms. Hoare, Richard
E., and Johan T. Du Toit. “Coexistence between People and Elephants in African
Savannas” Conservation Biology Volume 13, No 3. June 1999 pg. 633-639 This
primary source gave us details on elephant population in regards to human
settlement. Moore, Tara. The Endangered Species Elephants. pp. 15-20, 27-32.
Champaign, IL: Garrad Publishing Company 1982. This source delt with some of the
basic facts about the elephant, such as their diet and geographical location and
range. Norton, Boyd. The African Elephant: Last Days of Eden. Stillwater, MN:
Voyageur Press, 1991. This source gave us information on population figures,
poaching, natural disasters, and birth control methods. Overbeck, Cynthia.
Elephants. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 1983 This source gave us
information on the family groups of elephants, and on their methods of
communication, and also detail about their tusks, and trunks as defensive
mechanisms.