Animals - Mammals
The elephant - Introduction of the elephants
Introduction of the elephants
Alimentation of the elephants
Reproduction of the elephants
Habitat of the elephants
Characteristics of the elephants
African elephant
Asiatic elephant
Differences between asiatic and african elephant


THE ELEPHANTS

The elefant is an animal of the familie of the mammals with the scientific name of Elephantidae.They live from 50 to 70 years old.They weight is of about 11000 kg maximum.The height is of about 3,50 m.The african elefants live in all Africa but specially in the east.The asiatic elephants live in south Asia.



The african elephant

The african elephant is the biggest land mammal that exists.The males usually reach 6 to 7 meters in length and 3 to 3.5 meters in height at the withers, with a weight of 5.4 to 6 tons, which makes them the largest terrestrial living beings in the world. However, we have news of a male 4.2 m tall and weighing 12,274 kg.

When they move, they do it at a rate of about 6 km / h at a steady pace, although when they get scared or angry they can run at speeds above 40 km / h.

The African savanna elephant is characterized by its large head, broad ears that cover the shoulders, long and muscular trunk, presence of two tusks in the upper jaw, well developed in both sexes but larger in males. In their natural environment live between 40 and 50 years, as an adult elephant has no natural enemies, except man. From the age of 40, their last teeth wear out and it is impossible for them to eat, and they die. In captivity they can live longer by the care and food they receive; They can reach 60 years.

In addition to smell, hearing and touch, elephants also receive a lot of information by means of vibrations in the ground that they collect by the soles of their feet (these can be emitted by other elephants), for example ovulating females that look for a companion in the time of heat, but also identify the first vibrations of earthquakes or those that cause water courses, sometimes very far from the animal. The latter is of vital importance in very dry areas, such as the Namib desert, where elephants must travel hundreds of kilometers to find places to get water and food.



The asiatic elephant

Like its relative the African elephant, the Asian elephant is equipped with a large head, long muscular trunk, short neck almost nonexistent, large barrel-shaped body and legs in the form of a column. The differences between both species are abundant: to begin with, Asian elephants are smaller, with 2.0-3.5 meters high compared to the 2.7-4.0 meters reached by African elephants (from Asian elephants from Borneo to those of Sri Lanka by the Asians, and from the elephants of the jungle to those of the savanna by the Africans), with a domed head, smaller and rounded ears that do not cover the shoulders, arched back and tail proportionally longer, but also crowned by a tuft of black hairs, the only ones of considerable length in its hard, thick and leathery skin.

Unlike African elephants, not all Indian elephants have tusks (which are not canines, but elongated incisors); They are long and of considerable size in most males, but females often lack them. Of length in the head and the body they measure of 5,5 to 6,4 meters, the tail reaches of 1,2 to 1,5 meters. As for the other teeth, they have 4 large molars of dimensions and replacement similar to the African elephant, although of somewhat different morphology. The feet of the front legs have five fingers in the form of a hoof, and those of the hind legs, four. The end of the tube only has one lobe.

Despite their 5 tons of weight, the Indian elephants move with relative agility and quite safely, even in mountainous terrain. The average speed of the march is 5-6 kilometers per hour, although they can run at more than 40 km / h if they get scared or upset. They are good and resistant swimmers, quality that in the past allowed them to colonize some islands of Indonesia that could not be reached walking, not even during the descent of the typical Pleistocene seas.




| Introduction of the elephants | Alimentation of the elephants | Reproduction of the elephants | Habitat of the elephants | Characteristics of the elephants | African elephant | Asiatic elephant | Differences between asiatic and african elephant |

The elephant - Introduction of the elephants (Animals - Mammals)    -    Author : Aina - Spain



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