African Elephant

1
African Elephant
I would like to introduce the
By Amy Cunningham
2
Description
The African elephant male stands up to ten feet
high to its shoulder, and weighs up to six tons.
The female is slightly smaller, and weighs up to
four tons. The average life span of an African
elephant in the wild is 60 years.
Ears
Brain
Skin
Tusks
Hair
Teeth
Trunk
Feet
3
Ears
Did you know?
- The African elephant has ears that average at
least three time the size of the Asian elephant
- Ears are used as signaling organs in the
African elephant
- Ears are used to regulate body temperature
- Ears are used as a protective feature in the
African elephant to ward off potential threats.
- Each elephant's ear is unique and is used as a
a type of fingerprint for identification
4
Brain
Did you know?
- The brain of the elephant is larger than any
other land mammal and it is located in the back
of the skull well away from the forehead. -
Elephants are born with 35 of the mass of the
adult brain - The elephant is among the more
intelligent animals

- The brain weight of the bull African elephant
is 4.2-5.4 kg - The brain weight of the cow
African elephant is 3.6-4.3 kg - Brain
development in elephants is similar to that of
humans
5
Tusks
Did you know? - The tusks are actually upper
incisors, not canines. They are the only incisors
the elephant has... - Tusks are used for
digging, ripping of bark, foraging, resting a
heavy trunk, and as weapons
- Tusks are fundamentally no different than
ordinary teeth - Both sexes of the African
elephant have tusks, but only the male sex of
Asian elephants have tusks that protrude beyond
the lips.
- One of the elephant's tusks is often used more
than the other
6
Trunk
Did you know?
- In human terms the trunk represents the nose
and upper lip with the two nostrils running
through its full length
- The trunk is an exploratory organ in which much
of what the elephant experiences comes from the
trunk.
- Elephants can use their trunks as a snorkel
when swimming in water
- Elephants use their trunks to rub an itchy eye
or scratch its ear. Trunks are also used to
threaten, and to throw objects
- An elephant drinks by filling its trunk with
water and then pouring the water into its mouth
7
Teeth
Did you know?
- The total number of teeth an elephant has is 24
(six in each half jaw)
- No more than two of the six teeth are in wear
at the same time in each side of a jaw (the only
exception is in young elephants which may use
three)
- Each tooth drops out as it reaches the front of
the elephant's jaw.
- Teeth grow from the back of the jaw and follow
a linear pathway of movement forwards as the
preceding tooth is progressively worn down in the
front.
8
Feet
Did you know?
- The elephants foot is formed in such a way
that it is essentially walking on tiptoe, with a
tough and fatty part of connective tissue for the
sole - This spongy "shock absorber" helps an
elephant to move silently - The sole of the foot
is ridged and pitted this contributes to the
sure- footedness of the elephant for a large
variety of terrain.
- An elephants five toes are buried inside the
flesh of the foot.
- Not all toes have toenails. - The
circumference of the forefoot is approximately
equal to half the the shoulder height!
9
Hair
Did you know?
- Elephants are considered to be hairless
- The hair on the tail may reach a length of up
to 100 cm
- The elephant has small sensory hairs on its
trunk
- The fetus is covered with lanugo (a felt of
long downy hair) but most of it is shed before
birth
10
Skin
Did you know? - The skin of the elephant is not
very thick, except around the back and sides -
The skin is marked with ridged creases resembling
warty outgrowths, which is abundant on the trunk
and forehead - The natural skin color is greyish
black, but the apparent color is determined by
the soil of the land (this is caused by the
elephant throwing mud over its back
- There seems to be an absence of sweat glands in
the elephant
11
Habitat
The African Elephants habitat is the hot, dry
climate of Africa. They are found mainly in
grasslands. If you were looking for this animal,
you would most certainly find it in open meadows
near water. African elephants live in many parts
of sub-Saharan Africa, although their range is
now broken into patches.
12
Why they are endangered?
Past/Present/Future African elephants once lived
throughout Africa they now inhabit no more than
one-third of the continent and are gone from the
Sahara. Over the past 150 years, ivory hunters
have ruthlessly hunted them for their tusks.
Between 1979 and 1989, Africa's elephant
population plummeted from 1,300,000 animals to
750,000, due mostly to ivory hunting. Hunting of
the African elephant is now banned in several
countries, but poaching for ivory still exists.
Sadly, they became endangered because they were
hunted and killed for their ivory tusks.  African
elephants are now found mostly in reserves.
13
What is being done?
In 1989 the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES) made them an
Endangered Species and they could no longer be
killed. 
There are many national parks or reserves in
Africa where elephant habitat is protected. Many
people believe, however, that the parks are not
large enough and are too isolated from each other
to allow elephant populations to recover.
14
Laws to protect the elephant

• African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.
  4201-4245).
• The purpose of the Act is to provide additional
  protection for the African elephant. The Act
  establishes an assistance program to elephant
  producing countries of Africa and provides for
  the establishment of an African Elephant
  Conservation Fund. In addition, the Act places a
  moratorium on the importation of raw or worked
  ivory from African elephant producing countries
  that do not meet certain criteria found in the
  Act.

15
Interesting Facts
- Elephants don't drink with their trunks, but
use them as "tools" to drink with. This is
accomplished by filling the trunk with water and
then using it as a hose to pour it into the
elephant's mouth.
- Both the male and female African Elephants have
tusks compared to the Asian Elephantthe males
only get tusks.
- Elephants have greeting ceremonies when a
friend that has been away for some time returns
to the group.
- Elephants cry, play, have incredible memories,
and laugh!
16
Interesting Websites/Links
http//www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/creature_fe
ature/0103/
http//eelink.net/EndSpp/endangeredspecies-mainpag
e.html
http//www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/elephants/
http//www.endangeredspecie.com/
http//elephant.elehost.com/index.html