Elephants

Fast Facts

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Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Proboscidae
• Family: Elephantidae
• Genus: 2 genus
• Species: 3 species

Description

• Elephants are the largest land mammals.
• Females generally weigh around 2,800 kg and males can weight over 5,000 kg.
• Elephants have a long, specialized nose and upper lip called a trunk.
• Many elephants have two elongated teeth or tusks of ivory.

Life Cycle

• Babies are born after 22-24 months of gestation and remain with their mother for 3-4 years.
• Male calves leave the herd at 11 years and join other males.
• Female elephants reach maturity at 13 years. 
• Elephants live to be 60-65 years old.

Behavior

• Females and their calves live together in family herds.
• Males live by themselves or in small bachelor herds.
• Elephants communicate using over 25 different calls and sounds as well as body language.
• Elephants are one of the most intelligent animals and spend many years teaching younger elephants important life skills.

Habitat

• Elephants live in Africa and Asia.
• Most elephants live in the open grasslands, forests and areas near fresh water.
• In a few place like Namibia, African elephants live in the desert.

Predators

• Adult elephants have few predators.
• Babies may be attacked by large cats such as lions or tigers.
  

Food

• Elephants are browsers and eat bark, fruit, leaves and branches of shrubs and trees.
• They may travel great distances browsing for food and water.
• They will dig into the earth to find nutrients like mineral salts.

Status

• Elephants are endangered.
• Scientists estimate that less than 500,000 exist.
• The greatest threats to the survival of elephants are from the loss of their habitat and illegal hunting for their ivory tusks.