The African elephant is native to Sub Saharan Africa and lives in savannahs, forests and mountains. African elephants are large and thickset with thick grey skin and a characteristic trunk that they use for vocalising, drinking and grasping food. Both male and female African elephants have tusks. Elephants are known for their intelligence and strong social bonds. Female herds bond for life and will remember and communicate with family members even if herds split up. Bonds are especially strong between mothers and their babies.
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Loxodonta africana
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african-elephant
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Animal Facts
An African Savannah elephant’s tusks grow throughout its life; an adult male’s can grow 7cm per year.
In Tanzania, there is an island that has been dubbed ‘Elephant Island’ by locals because elephants will swim there to eat palm leaves and coconuts.
African Savannah elephants give themselves mud baths by spraying water and soil over their backs to protect them from the sun.
Male elephants go through a periodic state called ‘musth’; a time of heightened aggression and fertility due to an increase in testosterone.
African Savannah elephants are very important seed dispersers; the seeds of the plants and trees they eat are spread far and wide in their dung.