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One of the most amazing animals in Africa is the African 

Elephant. They have been around for about 55 million years 

and have adapted in many ways to survive. The scientific 

name for African elephant is Loxodonta africana. 

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There are only two species of elephant the Asian elephant and the African 

elephant, but biologists believe there are over 161 relatives that have gone 

extinct over millions of years. Some interesting relatives are the woolly 

mammoth and the American mastodon.

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African elephants live on the African continent. 

They are native in over 37 African countries. 

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African elephants have almost 150,000 muscles in their trunk 

making it very dexterous. They can perform a variety of 

tasks with it like, breathing, detecting vibrations, caressing 

their young, sucking up water, and grasping objects.

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The tip of their trunk has two opposable extensions, which 

are like fingers and work in a similar way, letting them do 

many different things just like humans. 

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African elephants carry their babies which are called calves 

for about 22 months, almost two years. Which means that 

they only have one calf every two to four years!

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The babies are gargantuan, sometimes weighing 

in at over 350 pounds. 

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African elephants are herbivores and eat anywhere from 

150-250 pounds of food a day. In addition to all of those 

plants they eat, African elephants also ingest 30-50 gallons of 

water a day.

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The tusk of all elephants are made of ivory. Both 

male and female African elephants grow tusks, 

while only male Asian elephants grow them. 

The tusks continue growing throughout their life and they 

use them for different things like digging, playing, and to 

jostle each other.

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All of this activity wears the tusks to down to keep 

them from getting too big and to prevent them 

from being caught on things. 

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The lifespan of African elephants in the wild is 

around 70 years, which is similar to humans. 

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African elephants live in herds that can consist of hundreds of full 

grown elephants and their calves. These herds are led by a 

matriarch which is usually an older mature female elephant.  

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These herds are nomadic and the average 

African elephant can travel 80 kilometers (50 

miles) in one day if they need to find food.

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African elephants are not just any kind of ordinary animals, because living 

in Africa has forced them to adapt in certain ways to protect themselves. 

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African elephants are sometimes called 

"pachyderms" because of the thick skin on their 

head and backs. The think skin and bristly hair 

help protect them from the sun and moisture loss.

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There are two different unique subspecies of African 

Elephant, the Savanna elephant and the Forest elephant.

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Forest Elephants live in the rainforests of central and western 

Africa. Forest elephants have straight tusks that point downward and 

oval shaped ears. They have smaller bodies than the Savanna 

elephant.

Some countries they are present in include Gabon, the 

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon and Central 

African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Ghana. 

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Savanna elephants are found in the grassy plains 

and bush lands of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Some countries they are present in include 

Botswana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, 

Mozambique and South Africa. They have larger 

ears and tusks that curve upward.

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The elephant species as a whole is the largest terrestrial 

animal in the world growing up to eleven feet tall and weighing 

anywhere from 7,000 to 13,200 pounds!

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