The elephant The largest mammals

The largest land mammal ”The Elephant”

The elephant is one of the largest animals to live on earth, and is the second-longest member of the animal kingdom after the giraffe. Elephants are the only animals that have a nose in the form of a hose that you use as a limb, and you use it to pull leaves, branches, and branches of trees,
  And to soak up the water that he later reaches into the mouth. Elephants have a strong sense of smell, and elephants have more ears than any other animal. And her teeth on a huge teeth body. Elephants are extremely powerful and highly intelligent animals. The elephant can lift a tree trunk and move it slowly using its teeth and hose.

Elephant structure

The height of a fully grown elephant is roughly equal to the length of its back from head to tail. The elephant has a short muscular neck, a huge head, and large, triangular ears. The hose is an extension of the upper jaw. The canine can grow from one end of the jaw at the base of the hose.
The elephant has a thick, soft gray leather that sometimes hangs in flaccid folds. The skin of a fully grown elephant is about 3 cm thick. It weighs about 900 kg. The skin of the elephant does not have sweat glands, so it has to cool its body by other means, such as loosening its huge ears or splashing water on its body. The bodies of elephants remain cool after they wallow in the mud, where the mud dries on the skin, and then blocks the sunlight
The elephant hose consists of a strong, bone-free diet, consisting of a nose and upper lip. The completed elephant hose is about 1.5 m long and weighs 140 kg. The elephant smells and breathes with a hose. He also uses it to eat and drink.
The elephant tusks are long, and their upper teeth are curved with incisors. They are of ivory material, and two-thirds of each canine extends outside the upper jaw.
Elephant-like legs shaped columns, while his feet are circular. Each foot has a diet pillow. The foot expands under the weight of the elephant but shrinks when it is raised. The elephant’s eyes are weak, the elephant has color blindness, and the eyes of the elephants are relatively small relative to the size of his huge head.

Elephant Life

Males and females live separately most of the time, and the elephant clan consists of family members and independent males with whom they share life in the same area. The number of members of the group ranges from several hundred to several thousand living together on a patch of land in search of food. The elephant clan itself is confined to a small area in dense, rainy vegetation, with an area of up to 250 km 2. The elephants relate to each other in different ways, including stunting by standing, movement, suggestion, smells and special sounds.
Elephants make a lot of rattling sounds, each with a different meaning.

Elephant Food

The elephant’s digestive system is described as inefficient, as it can only digest 40% of what the elephant eats. The elephant compensates for its digestive deficiencies by eating large amounts of food. It takes 16 hours to eat daily. The elephant is a vegetarian animal, and herbs make up an estimated 50% of its daily diet. The elephant eats 64 different species of plants, and his choice of plants varies according to seasons and seasons. The seeds and his favorite food are bamboos, pulp, coconut, dates, maize, peach, and sugar cane. One elephant drinks about 150 liters of water a day and can travel 80 kilometers in search of water. It is worth mentioning that the amount of food eaten by the elephant in captivity decreases to reach (57) kilograms according to the San Diego Zoo for animals; because the elephant does not burn many calories.

Reproduction and mating in elephants

A male elephant is complete when he is between 10 and 14 years old, but most do not mate until after 30. This is because females do not want to mate with young males, in addition to the large males chase young males in their twenties and prevent them from mating. The female remains after the growth are complete with the family and begin mating after the age of 12 years, She probably became a mother at the age of 13. The female carries her embryo for 22 months and gives birth to one baby, weighing between 115 and 145 kg at birth.

The life span of elephants

Wild elephants live up to 60 years, while in captivity for more than 65 years. Many elephants die after their teeth fall because they are unable to chew food.

The intelligence of elephants

IT has a large brain and enjoys a high degree of intelligence among animals. The life of elephants in the wild is complex and involves learning and gaining many social experiences. according to the heads, can issue 25 different calls on the elephant, each with its own meaning. Elephants also have an excellent memory to use during their social activity and as they travel through vast areas. It seems that the head of the family (the leader mother) is responsible for keeping the information needed by family members. They know the routes, places of fruit, trees, and water in drought conditions. She trains her young females, one of whom will take charge in the future.

Types of elephants (subspecies)

There are two main types of elephants: African elephants, which live in sub-Saharan Africa. Indian elephants, known as Asian elephants, live in parts of India and Southeast Asia.

elephant habitats

It can live in all environments, due to the wide variety of foods they can eat. Elephants live mainly in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. As for African elephants, they are spread in 37 countries, but most live in countries such as Botswana, Tanzania, Congo, Gabon and Zimbabwe have more than 30,000 African elephants in these countries. There are two species of African elephants, the savanna elephant, or the bush elephant (scientific name: Loxodonta africana), which lives in pastures and savannahs, and near the lakes and marshes. Most of the African elephants currently live in national parks to protect them from poaching. Asian elephants (scientific name: Elephas maximus) live in pastures and forests spread in 11 countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, India, and Sumatra. They are constantly on the hunt for food and form clear pathways. Just like the roads.