The African Elephant- by Allison Hsu

         They weigh between 8,800 to 15,400 pounds and stand up to 13 feet tall. African Elephants are the largest living land mammal on earth! They have huge ears shaped like the continent Africa that radiate heat.

Although these wonderful animals may look big and carnivorous, they are not like that at all; in fact they’re actually herbivores!  Sleeping only 3 to 4 hours a day, elephants spend much, if not all, of their time foraging for the much needed food to sustain their huge bodies. Adult African elephants can eat up to 300 pounds of root, grasses, fruit, and bark in a single day.

  African elephants live in dense forests and open plains. Female elephants and their young live in herds often led by the largest, oldest female elephant known as the matriarch. When a new calf is born, it is raised and cared for by the whole matriarchal herd consisting of up to 100 elephants. By the time male elephants hit their teenage years, they leave the matriarchal herd and either lead solitary lives or join up with other males and live in temporary herds.

African elephants have really good memories. This memory serves the females elephants well because every year they’ll remember where all the good water holes are. Recent studies have shown that African elephants can communicate through long distances by making subsonic rubbing noises that can travel through the ground faster than sound through air!

Out of all the animals on earth, the African elephant has one of the longest pregnancy periods- up to twenty-two months! Female elephants usually only give birth to one calf every 2 to 4 years (twins are rare). At birth, each calf weighs about 200 pounds and stand up to one meter tall (three feet).

Even though it is illegal to hunt African elephants, people still poach the elephants for their precious ivory tusks. If you want to help keep these beautiful, intelligent creatures front going extinct, you can help by spreading the word and donating money to various animal support groups. The next time you see an ivory sculpture or a piece of ivory jewelry, remember that in order to make that piece, a elephant had to die for it, so you should simply put it down and walk away.

  

     

Works Cited:

"African Elephants." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2015.

"Basic Facts About Elephants." Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., 18 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.