Where are they found?
They are found in the forests, grasslands, marshes, scrub, and semi-desert areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Other elephants like the forest elephant are found in the tropical forests of central Africa.

What are they?
The largest land mammal on earth.

What do they look like?
They have very large ears, a very long trunk and large tusks. They are 3-4m (10-13 ft.) tall at the shoulder and 6 to 7.25m long (20 - 24 ft.) The males weigh 3200-6400 kg (7000-14000 lb.) The females, known as cows, are smaller than the males which are known as bulls. The trunk is nothing more than an elongation of their nose and upper lip. It is used for breathing and smelling, but also as a tool, much like an arm or hand.

Elephants are capable of pulling up to 11.5 litres (3 gallons) of water into the trunk to be sprayed into the mouth for drinking or onto the back for bathing.

How long do they live? An African Elephant can live for up to 70 years. What do they eat? The African Elephant is a herbivore. It eats all types of vegetation such as grasses, leaves, fruits and bark. The trunk enables them to perform some delicate operations, like picking grasses. Breeding The female elephants are pregnant (gestate) for 22 to 24 months. They start breeding at 10 to 11 years for the cows and 10 to 20 years for the bulls.

Are they rare?
Elephants have been looked upon as a nuisance for destroying crops in parts of the world, and have paid a severe price for this. They have been hunted and poached for their ivory tusks. They have been prevented from migrating between their ancient feeding and water sites because of the development of agricultural areas and human dwellings. The whole Elephant population throughout Africa is declining. However, some countries in southern Africa have the opposite problem: too many elephants! There is over population and under population of these amazing beasts in the wilds of Africa.

Did you know?
These elephants live in a highly organised social structure referred to as a matriarchal herd. The herd is controlled by the matriarch, who is typically the oldest and largest female. Males beyond the age of maturity are with the herd only during mating.

African elephants make a wide variety of vocal, low frequency, sounds that we humans cannot hear. Wandering individual elephants can keep in contact over distances of many miles. They also make noises we can hear, like grunts, whistles, and trumpeting.