African Elephants have lived in Africa for a long time. They adapted to Africa very well. Elephants have many body features that help them live. If they didn't have those features they might not have survived all of these years. Those features are ears, trunks, tusks and more!!! Those features are physical parts of elephants.
Their huge ears help them survive Africa's hot climate, by fanning themselves so they can cool down which allows them to adapt to Africa's heat. Another physical part of African Elephants are their trunks which help them everyday. Their trunks help them, drink, eat, breathe, smell, and grab things. Their tusks also help them survive. Both males and females African Elephants have tusks. They use their tusks to dig for food and water and rip bark from trees to eat. Males use their tusks to battle one another. But sadly their tusks are so important to humans that elephants have been killed for their tusks which have ivory. You will learn about that later.
Elephant’s survival revolves around their trunks, ears, and tusks. If they didn't have those features they would have probably died. If they didn't have huge ears they would have not survived Africa's heat. If they had no trunks they wouldn't have been able to eat, drink, breathe, smell, and grab things. They need their tusks to eat too. So they need those features. Did you know that people share some of the same traits as elephants? They do. When people die humans go to a funeral and become sad. When an elephant dies in a herd, the herd stops and become very sad! Many other animals’ don’t share the same adaptation as African Elephants! Zebras, rhinos, and hippos don’t have trunks! They have other adaptations to live in the wild.
The African Elephants are the largest of Earth's land mammals. They are larger then Asian Elephants. Their size is 8 feet to 13 feet, that is about 2-4 men. They weigh about 5,000 to 14,000 pounds. Their average lifespan in the wild is about 70 years. Elephants mostly eat roots, grasses, fruit, and tree bark. They can eat up to 300 pounds per day. They don't sleep much either. They do a lot of roaming instead. Female elephants are called Cows. They live in herds with their children. Male elephants are called Bulls. They usually roam by themselves.
Having a baby is a lot of work for an elephant. Elephants have a longer pregnancy span than any other mammal—almost 22 months. Cows (Female Elephants) usually give birth to one baby every two to four years. At birth, baby elephants already weigh about 200 pounds. They are as tall as 3 feet!!
African Elephants are endangered. People kill them and build towns where African Elephants live. People are killing them for their tusks too. Tusks have ivory. Ivory is a type of material that people use for piano keys, jewelry and tools. This has become a major problem. It is illegal today, but people still do it. The population of African Elephants is going down each year.
Author’ Note: Elephants are amazing animals! They are really cool and I had a great time learning about them!
Bibliography:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-elephant.html
http://img5.travelblog.org/Photos/55454/325535/t/2866620-Elephant-s-ear-that-looks-like-map-of-Africa-1.jpg
African Elephant the World's Biggest Land Mammal
By: Kristen Hall
Did you know that African Elephant's Ears are shaped like Africa? Look!
