Elephant – A magnificent animal (Photos)

Information about elephants:

The largest land mammal on earth, the African elephant weighs up to eight tons. The elephant is distinguished by its massive body, large ears and a long trunk, which has many uses ranging from using it as a hand to pick up objects, as a horn to trumpet warnings, an arm raised in greeting to a hose for drinking water or bathing.

Led by a matriarch, elephants are organized into complex social structures of females and calves, while male elephants tend to live in isolation. A single calf is born to a female once every 4-5 years and after a gestation period of 22 months—the longest of any mammal. These calves stay with their mothers for years and are also cared for by other females in the group.

The above have been taken from World Wild Life website.

African Elephant:

Weight: 4 – 7 tonnes
Height: 3 meters
Length: 5 – 7.5 meters
Lifespan: 60 – 70 years
Food: 225 Kg per day
Water: 190 litres per day

These animals have major role in nature. I was amazed when I found out that elephants do not follow any paths in the bush but they create their own and these paths are used later by other animals either to reach the water or run away from the predators. Elephants are also throwing the trees down while scratching themselves or to reach the top leaves. Later, other animals are going to these fallen trees to eat also and this helps them to find food even if the grass started to dry out.