Elephants are regarded as one of the big five mammals in the wild and the largest land animals in the world Weighing up to 6 tons (11 000lb). This giant of the animal kingdom has a striking presence. The elephant is distinguished from other mammals by its high level of brainpower, interesting behaviour, means of communication and multifaceted social structure. There are two species that are traditionally recognised in the world, the African elephant and the Asian elephant. Although they are totally living on different continent, they share a lot in common. African elephants can be distinguished from its counterpart by their larger ears that look somewhat like the continent of Africa for the Asian elephants have smaller, rounded ears.
Size
An African elephants are the
largest among the two species weighing from 5,000 to 14,000 lbs. (2,268 to
6,
350 kilograms, here as an Asian elephant weigh up to 2.25 to 5.5 tons (2,041
to 4,990 kg)
350 kilograms, here as an Asian elephant weigh up to 2.25 to 5.5 tons (2,041
to 4,990 kg)
The Elephant uses
a well-developed trunk in most
of everything, the truck is very important in that it serves as a nose,
hand, an extra foot, gesture device and a tool for gathering food, taping
water, dusting, digging, tearing down trees, fighting especially males and a variety of many other functions. Not
only that, but the truck also permits the elephant to reach as high as 23 feet.
African elephants have two finger-like of its kind on the end of their trunk
that they can use to grab small items. Asian elephants have one. Either male or
female grow tusks and they grow for most of an elephant's lifetime and are an
indicator of age. An elephant's trunk has more than 100,000 muscles, according
to the research carried out by the National Geographic. Same applies to humans
where you can find someone right handed or left handed, elephants can be
right-tusked or left-tusked]
Quick Facts
Allocation
Elephants are widely allocated throughout central, western, eastern and
south of the African Sahara, with the forest elephant inhabiting the
rainforests of the Congo basin. There are isolated populations in the southern
African sub-region. Asian elephants mostly live in Nepal,
India and Southeast Asia in scrub forests and rain forests. Elephants mostly
live in the open plains, clean drinking water and the plentiful supply of food
are an elephant’s only habitat requirement.
Diet
Elephant are regarded as
herbivore mammals they browse and eat up to 600 pounds of food a day. They eat
roots, fruits, and barks. They eat a lot of things that much their size, they
can be extremely destructive in their feeding habits by pushing over trees,
pulling them up by their roots or breaking off branches. They don’t sleep a lot
they spend most of their time walking great distances while foraging for the
large quantities of food that they require to sustain their massive bodies.
Habits
A group of elephants is called a
herd, about 10 individuals which is led by a matriarch the oldest female.
Unlike in other mammal species where the adult males live together within the
family it’s not the case with elephants as the adult male tends to wander on
their own, they are normally solitary and move from herd to herd. Females, as
well as young and old elephants, stick together in a herd. The females in each
herd help each other find food and care for calves.
Reproduction
Elephant have along pregnancy
of about 22 months longer than any other land animal. A baby elephant weighs up
to 200ibs. (91kg) and stand about 3 feet (1m) tall. A baby elephant is called a
calf. female elephants (Cows) usually give birth to one calf every two to four
years by the time a calf is 2 or 3 years old, they are ready to be weaned. A
female calf will stay with their mothers while the male calf wanders off on
their own or join another group. A female is ready to conceive when they reach
13 to 20 years of age.
Socialisation
Elephants are generally sociable and form small family groups consisting
of an older matriarch and three or four offspring, along with their young. The
female family groups are often visited by mature males checking for females in oestrus.
Elephants communicate within their herds or between herds many kilometres away
mostly using sounds too low for human ears to perceive and by stamping their
feet, elephants are believed to have the same or similar levels of cooperation
as chimpanzees the closest relative of man. When elephants meet at watering
holes and feeding places, they warmly greet each other a sign of Socialisation among themselves. If in a
group one elephant dies, the herd dig a shallow hole and made the dead elephant
to rest in peace and they can even spent days mourning for their friend.
Life span
Elephants live to up to 60 to 70
years in the wild
Predators
- Humans, because ivory is so valuable to some humans, many elephants have been killed for their tusks. This trade is illegal today, but it has not been completely eliminated, and some African elephant populations remain endangered.
- Other predators like hyena, crocodiles, lions are a threat to elephants they most of the time target the one ones
Where
elephants can be seen in Uganda
also provides a great opportunity of watching these giants.
Take a game drive in
There are very many
places in Uganda where these species can be seen in abundant; they include
national parks and a few game reserves. Queen Elizabeth national park which is
located in the south western part of Uganda provide a unique opportunity for
elephant viewing in a close range , in a
tourist 4x4 FWD vehicle. Many can be
spotted in the savannah grassland of the park and other can be seen when on a
boat cruise on the Kazinga channel on the shores of the lake foraging. http://elephantsafaris.co.ug/5days-queen-murchison.phpthe northern part of the park you will meet a lot of them
just near in a herd of about 10 individuals per family you meet as you will
also meet other wildlife in the park. Also when you visit http://elephantsafaris.co.ug/lakemburo.phpLake Mburo national
park you will keep smiling after having a glance on these wild giants. At http://www.elephantsafaris.co.ug/ we offer good packages for wildlife viewing
and primate watching (single or combined) to make your safari memorable.
