What are elephants like? Asian elephants: description, features, lifestyle, nutrition and interesting facts. Who is an elephant

Of the terrestrial animals of our planet. Currently, the detachment includes 2 species: African and Indian elephants. The rest died out not so long ago by biological standards: mammoths - in glacial period, and mastodons shortly before the appearance of the first people in America.

African elephant (lat. Loxodonta) slightly larger than its Indian counterpart, reaches a height of 4 meters, weighs about 7 tons and also differs from it in the more impressive size of its ears. These elephants live in the steppe regions of the mainland and in Egypt. Both females and males African elephants have a formidable weapon - powerful tusks.

photo: Leon Molenaar

Distribution range of Indian elephants (lat Elephas maximus) - the jungles of India, Ceylon, Indochina and Burma. These animals reach three meters in height and five tons in weight. The species lacks tusks and has significantly smaller ears than its African cousins. At the end of their trunk, Indian elephants have a finger-like appendage that they use to pick up and carry small objects. In contrast, African relatives have two similar fingers. Indian elephants are much more peaceful than African ones and are better trained, making friendly contact with humans, so they are often used as labor. At logging sites, elephants transport cut trees, lay planks on barges, and remove logs from the water.

photo: Manoj Kumar Sahoo

The elephant is an amazing animal, which differs from all others not only in size, but also in body structure and habits. On occasion, the elephant happily gives himself a shower. A powerful trunk serves as a hose and pump for water procedures. This multifunctional organ is a modified nose fused with the upper lip of the animal. The elephant needs it to breathe and smell, drink and make trumpet sounds. With their trunk, which contains about 100 thousand muscles, elephants grab various items weighing up to a ton, carrying them over impressive distances.

photo: World Land Trust

Unlike ancient ancestors, modern elephants have only one pair of tusks, a third of which are hidden inside the animal’s body. They grow throughout the life of the elephant, along with it, and their size indicates a certain age of the animal. Elephants have no lower incisors. Ivory is of great value as an expensive ornamental material, so unfortunate animals often become the target of human hunting. Despite the legal ban on the ivory trade, poaching cannot be completely eradicated and hundreds of steppe giants still die annually at the hands of humans.

photo: Terry Carew

Elephants usually live in large herds of 15 to 50 or more individuals, where everyone is connected family relations. It is very rare to find animals that have strayed from the herd and live independently. As a rule, they are aggressive and dangerous. In the herd, friendly relations have been established between relatives, the animals greet each other, take care of the babies, remaining faithful to the herd. Elephants are part of the four, they are able to show emotions, grieving the loss of one of their brothers, they know how to rejoice at each other and even laugh. Elephants have an excellent memory, remembering people, events and places in which they find themselves.

These giants spend most of the day on the road, in search of food, which they absorb almost continuously, 16 hours a day, eating more than 130 kg. Their food is the bark, foliage, roots and fruits of plants. Elephants drink about 200 liters of liquid per day; whenever possible, they spend the night near bodies of water. Despite their massive size, elephants are excellent swimmers, capable of traveling tens of kilometers through the water without stopping. There are cases when elephants swam more than 60 km without rest.

Elephants have a powerful skeleton, which makes up 15% of the animal's weight. Their skin reaches 2.5 cm in thickness and is covered with sparse hairs. Elephants, like humans, live on average about 70 years. They are the only representatives of terrestrial fauna that cannot jump. Despite their apparent clumsiness, these giants easily move across the plain, covering vast distances, and when running they reach speeds of up to 30 km/h. Elephants spend only 4 hours a day sleeping. Photo: Marcel van Oosten

Elephants have very expressive language gestures If an elephant spreads its ears, it means that it is dissatisfied and is capable of showing aggression. In case of danger, the animal uses its tusks, trunk and powerful legs. An elephant can trample an enemy or throw him away, grabbing him with his trunk. When frightened, it makes a prolonged screeching sound, which is also a sign of danger, because in panic, this giant sweeps away everything in its path.

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• KEY FACTS
• Name: African elephant (Loxodonta africana)
• Distribution: Africa, southern Sahara Desert
• Number of herds formed by females: 6-8
• Gestation period: 22 months
• Gaining independence: 10-12 years

Lined up, elephants make their way across the savannah in Samburu (Kenya). African elephants live in matriarchal communities headed by an elder - the mother of the clan.

Elephants are the largest land mammals, whose social behavior deserves special attention.

Elephants live in matriarchal herds, in which they are very strong family ties. Animals are renowned for their complex behaviors and are even credited with the ability to express human emotions such as joy or sadness. In mythology and fiction elephants symbolize wisdom and intelligence.

To find out how true this idea is, we suggest considering the structural features of the elephant herd and the behavior of the animals in it. Majority scientific works dedicated to behavior African elephant(Loxodonta africana). We will also focus on it and also mention social behavior Asian (or Indian) elephant (Elephas maximus), which is in many ways similar to the social life of the African species.

One of the features social organization elephants is the dominance of the female in the group. The herd is a group of female elephants led by the oldest and most experienced female elephant - the head of the clan. Members of the herd are usually the female relatives of the main elephant and their children. Usually in such a group there are from 6 to 12 animals, although it happens that the herd consists of 20 individuals.

This friendly elephant family just took a mud bath in Addo National Park in South Africa. The age difference between the children does not exceed four years.

The herd obeys the leadership of the head elephant. She chooses the best pastures and sources of water, and also makes decisions about behavior in a dangerous situation: if she runs away, then the herd follows her, but if the main elephant decides to fight back, all the other animals will join her.

Family bonds

In a herd, female elephants maintain very close relationships. They help each other during childbirth and the whole herd takes care of the babies. If there is a woman in labor in the herd, the eldest elephant takes care of her and acts as a midwife. After birth, the mother and assistant help the baby elephant get to its feet. This is very important because the newborn is defenseless against predators. If a baby elephant who has not learned to walk is in danger, adults will not be able to carry it to safety. During puberty, female elephants show special interest in baby elephants. It is believed that this behavior is part of preparation for their future motherhood.

A nice elephant often continues to lead the herd even after she can no longer have her own offspring. IN wildlife elephants can live up to 70 years. Adults are so large that, perhaps, they have no other enemies besides humans. The lifespan of elephants is limited by the condition of their teeth. When the teeth become unusable, the animal cannot eat and dies from starvation.

After the death of the eldest elephant, she usually becomes the head of the herd. eldest daughter. If there is not enough food or living space for a large herd, it is sometimes divided into two subgroups. Sometimes something like a “clash of personalities” arises between members of the herd, and they can no longer get along with each other. In this case, one of the conflicting females leaves with her offspring and forms a new herd, where she will be the main elephant. Females remain in the herd all their lives, and males leave it at the age of 10-12 years.

In the Maasai Mara, Kenya, a baby African elephant that had previously fed on its mother's milk tries solid food for the first time. Elephants' childhood lasts a long time: they become adults only at 10-12 years of age.

This happens gradually: young males spend more and more time at the edges of the herd's range until they eventually move away. Males separated from the herd form large groups(3-4 individuals), however, unlike female herds, these communities are short-lived, often disintegrate and change their composition. Groups of male elephants usually travel much longer distances compared to herds of female elephants. This is primarily due to the absence of male cubs in the communities. Adult males live alone and only in mating season join females for mating. At the end of this season, mature elephants usually return to their original herd.

Mating season

Elephants reach sexual maturity at the age of 15 years. Elephants are in heat for several days, approximately every two months, during which time they respond to the advances of males. In males at the same age, a black secretion begins to secrete from the gland located between the ear and eye. Such discharge appears annually and usually lasts for three months. At this time, males' hormone levels increase and they become more excitable and aggressive. Scientists have not yet reached a consensus on whether a similar phenomenon is observed in the Asian elephant and suggest that this feature is unique to the African species.

The signal for the beginning of the breeding season of elephants is the appearance of a secretion in males. When this happens, the male goes in search of a partner ready to mate. Courtship can last from 2-3 days to several weeks: the elephant follows the female elephant everywhere until she is ready to mate. In a dispute for a female, other elephants usually give way to the male who is ready for mating season.

Mother protects a little African elephant from adversity. If he is in serious danger, he will hide between the elephant's legs.

Newborn baby elephants

Pregnancy in females lasts 22 months. A newborn elephant calf depends on its mother for everything, although it seems very large and well developed. For several months he does not leave the elephant's side, and if he senses danger, he hides under her belly.

A baby elephant feeds on its mother's milk until it reaches two years of age. It happens that such feeding lasts longer, but by the age of 5 it is sure to end. A baby needs to learn a lot from his mother, for example. how to use the trunk to get food, drink and care for yourself. Offspring appear every 4 years, and sometimes less often. During this time, the female helps one elephant calf become independent, and only then can pay attention to another newborn.

The elephant continues to learn a lot from its mother and other adults even after feeding has stopped. Due to the hunting of elephants and poaching of their tusks, baby elephants often find themselves in a difficult situation: if the main elephant and other adult animals die, the babies will never master the necessary skills. In areas where hunting occurs, young orphans often gather in large groups. The presence of such large concentrations of young elephants indicates that these animals are facing serious difficulties in the area.

Young female elephants prefer to stay with their mother longer than male elephant calves. The latter are more active and willing to communicate with other adult elephants, even if they belong to other herds. Perhaps this is why mature female elephants most often remain in their native herd, while males who have reached sexual maturity leave.

Indian elephants, led by trainers, carry logs during a performance in honor of the King of Thailand. Although between African and Asian species There are some differences (especially in the size of the ears), many of their habits are the same.

It is not surprising that with such a high social organization, elephants are very sociable. They use a whole arsenal of sounds: from a loud roar, which they make with their trunk, to quiet grunting and purring. It is also noteworthy that elephants use unique view communication using the so-called infrasound - low-frequency waves that are not audible to humans. It is known that only whales and elephants have this method of communication.

Messages transmitted by infrasound include warnings of danger and signals indicating readiness for mating. This ability evolved in elephants as a way of maintaining contact with each other on wide open spaces African savannas. Females are ready to mate for a short period, which is why males need to know about it as soon as possible.

Although elephants are nearsighted, they also use visual signals to communicate. The trunk, ears and tail help them in this. For example, an aggressive elephant will usually stick out its ears, making it appear much larger and more threatening than it actually is. Waving its trunk also indicates that the elephant is not in the best mood. Touch is a very important element of communication among elephants. For example, elephants use their trunks to examine each other and even taste food from their friend’s mouth. However, most often this is done by a baby elephant that has stopped receiving milk and is learning to eat solid food from its mother’s mouth.

Emotional animals

Elephants have long been credited with human-like emotions. Indeed, female elephants show exceptional care for other members of the herd. For example, if their brother is sick, injured or cannot walk, the female elephants will try not to leave him a single step and try to help him in every possible way. This may last for several days until the patient either recovers or dies. When the elephant dies, other members of the herd are seen to be worried and worried.

A female African elephant with her three calves at a watering hole in Moremi Game Reserve (Botswana). For these amazing creatures only weapons pose a significant threat.

Many experts consider this behavior to be an expression of grief. Elephants who suffered in captivity were also often observed crying. No tears have been observed in elephants in the wild.

Elephants are also known to take an interest in the remains of dead relatives - even the dried skeletons of long-dead animals. They usually examine the dead body for a long time and carefully with their trunk and sensitive pads of the feet. If one of the members of the herd dies, the elephants begin to walk very slowly and remain silent. Sometimes they cover the body of a deceased fellow with branches and leaves. Animal observations indicate that elephants often return to the place where their relative died. This behavior of animals is interpreted by many as a manifestation of grief. If a baby elephant dies or is stillborn, the mother usually remains near the body for several days, gently stroking the calf, trying to get a response. During this period, the elephant does not eat anything, her reactions are weak or completely absent.

If members of the herd are encountered who are not temporarily living together, they rejoice and perform actions known as a "welcoming ceremony." At the same time, the elephants spin around in one place, flapping their ears, making loud noises, and also defecate: in this way they give the former members of the herd a familiar odorous family signal. Elephants are also one of those few species of animals that, even as adults, do not deny themselves the pleasure of indulging in games from time to time: they frolic, playfully attacking each other and making loud noises.

• Did you know?
• The head elephant is the largest, oldest and wisest elephant in the herd. Usually her age is over 60 years.
• Elephants are such smart animals that instincts don't play a role. important role in their development: they master most skills on their own, following the example of their elders. Therefore, the baby elephant teenage years stays with the mother, like a human child. The elephant's brain has a complex structure, weighs 4 times more than a human's and is the largest among all land mammals.
• Elephant ears are excellent at picking up low-frequency vibrations. This animal can hear infrasound within 4 km. And at dusk, when conditions are most favorable, the infrasound emitted by elephants can cover a distance of up to 10 km.



The African elephant animal is a mammal from the order Proboscis, whose distribution is Africa. It is one of the largest animals living on the planet.

Recently, scientists divided the genus into two species - savannah and forest; previously they were considered subspecies of one animal.

Description

The height of the African elephant reaches 3.3 m, length - up to 7.5 m. Many people are interested in which elephant is larger, Indian or African - Indian ones are about a third smaller.

The weight of an African elephant can exceed 6 tons. It is curious how much the forest elephant weighs; some time ago it was considered a subspecies of the African elephant; its mass rarely exceeds 2,700 kg.

general characteristics

Elephants are divided into two types - savanna and forest, the second is characterized by significantly smaller sizes. Relatively recently, desert elephants have been discovered as an isolated population that has managed to survive in extreme conditions.

Habitat. Area

The elephant was once widespread south of the Sahara, but gradually the range shrank and ceased to be continuous; the area decreased by almost 6 times from the previous 30 million square kilometers. In some countries the elephant has disappeared, among them:

• Mauritania;
• Gambia;
• Burundi.

The distribution area is quite large, but in reality African giants live in national parks and reservations.

Appearance

The African giant has a massive body, a large head located on a short neck. The limbs are thick, and the ears reach a respectable size, distinctive feature animal became long trunk with strong muscles. The upper incisors in the process of evolution received the shape of tusks. Covered with sparse hair, the color is predominantly gray.

Habitat

They may inhabit Various types areas, with the exception of deserts and rainforests.

In this regard, the African elephant and the Indian elephant have certain similarities; they need similar conditions for a comfortable existence. They need access to food, shade and sufficient fluids.

Lifestyle

They drive active life V different time days, but during particularly hot hours, activity drops significantly. The more active people are in the immediate area, the more likely they are to switch to night look life.

They have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, allowing them to hear at a distance of 10 km. Poor eyesight have the African giant and the Indian elephant; the comparison says that the second one has it twice as bad (only 10 meters of visibility). A massive physique does not interfere with active and fast movements. They sleep for about 40 minutes.

Nutrition

The elephant mainly eats plant foods; per day it can eat up to 300 kg of leaves, roots, branches; old elephants usually eat in the swamps. Every day the animal must drink more than 100 liters of water; during drought, it creates reservoirs by breaking up dry riverbeds.

Reproduction

For the most part, in African individuals, reproduction occurs in the middle of the rainy season, although it is not tied to a specific time of year, but during this period conditions are most favorable. During drought, elephants lose their ability to reproduce and sexual activity is extremely rare. It has the longest pregnancy among mammals, often reaching 22 months.

Enemies

African elephants have few natural enemies, the main one being humans, who are responsible for the extermination large quantity individuals and a significant decrease in the population.

African elephants are often attacked by land leeches; to remove them, a stick is taken into the trunk, with which the animal scrapes along the body. If an individual cannot get rid of trouble on its own, another one helps it. Elephant calves can be attacked by lions and adults are inaccessible to them.

Lifespan

The African elephant lives on average 60 years, but in captivity the animal's age can exceed 80 years. Young elephants engage in skirmishes with rhinoceroses, causing half to die before the age of 15. Most common cause The death of old individuals is the wear of the molars, they die of hunger due to the inability to eat.

Red Book

In 2004, the status of the animal in the Red Book changed from “endangered species” to “vulnerable”, but the risk of extinction of the species remains quite high.

People often ask which elephant can be trained, African or Indian, only the second can be trained; the wild nature of elephants from Africa does not allow them to be trained. There are many other interesting facts associated with these animals:

• the weight of big elephant weighed 11 tons, he was killed in Angola in 1956;
• animals have good memory and a developed communication system;
• An adult elephant's trunk contains up to 8 liters of water at a time.

In ancient times, there were many different elephants, but gradually they became extinct. Now there are only two species living on our planet: African and Indian.

Where do elephants live?

Elephants are named after their habitat: some of them live in Africa, while others are home to India. Regardless of the species, all elephants are listed in the Red Book. This means that there are very few of these beautiful large animals left in the wild, and they need human protection.

• African elephants , as the name suggests, live in Africa. Both females and males have large tusks - large front teeth that can grow up to two meters in length. Adults often reach 4 meters in height and weigh more than 700 kg. African elephants are very aggressive animals and are almost impossible to train.

Rice. 1. African elephant.

• Indian elephants differ from their African counterparts in their more modest size. They reach a height of no more than 3 meters, and their weight does not exceed 500 kg. They live in many Asian countries: India, Thailand, Laos, Ceylon. Indian elephants are very peaceful and friendly animals that are easy to train. It is this type of elephant that can be found in the circus and zoo. In their homeland, they are used as strong four-legged helpers: elephants drag trees in sawmills, carry heavy loads, and in ancient times they even took part in military battles.

Rice. 2. Indian elephant.

In India, elephants are especially revered and respected. Moreover, in this country the elephant is a deity. For example, the Hindu god of wisdom Ganesha looks like a man with the head of an elephant. Not a single local holiday or major celebration is complete without these mighty animals, lavishly decorated with flowers and bright capes.

Elephant habits

Elephants are herd animals that in the wild live in large herds of up to thirty animals. Lone elephants are very rare.

As a rule, the herd is led by an experienced old female. Once every few years, female elephants give birth to calves, who live with their mother for up to five years. Average age life seems to be about 70 years.

Rice. 3. Baby elephant.

Elephants are herbivores that eat berries, leaves, fruits, grass, and tree bark.

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Despite their peaceful disposition, when a threat arises they become very aggressive and dangerous. A frightened or angry elephant makes a loud, sharp sound and spreads its ears. He begins to trample everything in his path, and with his trunk he begins to uproot trees and throw various objects to the sides. At such moments, all the animals try to get out of the way of the angry elephant as quickly as possible.

Elephants are incredibly smart and capable animals with excellent memory. An elephant is capable of remembering for the rest of its life a person who caused him harm many years ago, and when he meets him he will definitely take revenge on him.

What have we learned?

When studying the topic “Where do elephants live” according to the 1st grade program of the world around us, we found out what continent elephants live on and what species live on our planet. We learned what the difference is between African and Indian elephants, what their habits and characteristics are.

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The African elephant is indigenous to African continent. Belongs to the elephant family. There are 2 types of elephants in Africa: forest and savannah.

Savannah elephants are precisely called African elephants. They are the largest land mammals on Earth. From the name it is clear that this animal lives in the savannah - an endless steppe with tall grass. Main feature Savannas are sparsely growing groups of low trees and bushes. The climate is subequatorial, divided into dry and rainy seasons. Located south of the Sahara Desert.

Today, the habitat of these animals has been greatly reduced due to the rapid growth of the population of Africa. In some areas, the African elephant is no longer found. This species is saved from complete destruction only by living in national parks. Outside their borders, the African elephant can no longer exist normally; this is hampered by the transformation of pasture lands into arable lands and poaching.

The African elephant is the largest land animal.

Elephant tusks are a very expensive and popular commodity, for which more than 70 thousand of these mammals were exterminated in the last century. In 1990, a law was passed banning the trade in ivory, but poachers still shoot elephants today. As of 2010, the African elephant population was approximately 600,000, with a significant proportion living in the national parks of Tanzania, Kenya and Congo.

Appearance

The African elephant has a massive body, big head and a very short neck. Elephants move easily on both sand and swampy terrain due to the peculiarities of the soles of their feet, which can narrow and widen. During walking, when the elephant stands on the ground, the soles expand and the area of ​​contact with the surface increases. The forelimbs have 4 fingers, the hind limbs - 3. The elephant has huge ears up to 1.5 meters long. The tail can reach a length of 1-1.2 meters. The skin color is gray, the body is covered with sparse hair. The skin is wrinkled, rough, and the tusks are curved.

The height of a male African elephant ranges from 3.2 to 4 meters, but elephants with a height of 4 meters are extremely rare, usually reaching a height of 3.5 meters. The height of the female is 2.2-2.6 meters. The weight of males varies from 4.7 to 6 tons, females - from 2.2 to 3.2 tons. The body length of these mammals is 6-7.5 meters. Sometimes there are elephants weighing 10 tons and 4 meters high. The largest recorded weight is 12 tons.

Tusks

Huge curved fangs are called tusks. They are present in both females and males. The tusks of males are longer and larger. Their length varies from 1.5 to 2.4 meters, and their weight is 25-45 kg. Elephants' tusks grow throughout their lives. In older individuals they can weigh 60 kg. Elephants use their tusks to extract various roots, tearing up the ground with them. Also, with these fangs, these animals tear off the bark of trees and defend themselves from attacks by predators. During the mating season, males use their tusks to fight each other.

In addition to tusks, elephants have 4 molars, each weighing about 5 kg and about 30 cm long. The replacement of milk teeth with first molars occurs at 15 years of age. The emerging molars change again at the age of 30. The last change occurs at age 45. By the age of 65-70, the last molars are completely worn out, the animal can no longer chew food and dies of hunger.

Elephants are highly intelligent animals.

Trunk

The elephant's trunk is represented as a fused upper lip and nose. This is a muscular, long, very flexible and mobile appendage ranging from 1.5 to 1.8 meters in length. The trunk weighs from 130 to 150 kg. The elephant's trunk is very strong, with its help it lifts loads of up to 300 kg. An elephant can hold a whole bucket of water in its trunk. At the end of the trunk there are two finger-like processes.

Reproduction and lifespan

African elephants mate during the rainy seasons, with the male and female moving away from the others. The duration of pregnancy is 22 months. One baby elephant is born. In height from about 1 meter, weight – 100-120 kg. Newborn elephants do not have tusks. Begins to walk immediately after birth, following its mother everywhere. Females feed their young with milk for 1.5 years. These animals become independent when they reach 4 years of age; until this moment, they are cared for by their mother or other females of the herd. They become sexually mature at 10-12 years of age. Peak reproductive age for females is 25-45 years. Typically, each female gives birth to 8-10 elephant calves in her lifetime. Elephants live for about 70 years in captivity good care live up to 80 years.

Despite their bulkiness and massiveness, elephants are excellent swimmers. Moreover, they simply love water!

Behavior and nutrition

They live in herds consisting of females and elephant calves. The size of the herd is 10-15 animals. The head is the adult female, who is then replaced by the eldest daughter. Males leave the herd at 10 years of age. Juveniles form small groups. Adult elephants live alone or in pairs. They come to females only during the mating season and leave again after mating. Each herd has its own habitat. When the herd grows and its representatives are no longer 10-15, but 2 times larger, the herd is divided into 2 parts, which extremely rarely unite. If the herds have united, then the leading females begin to quarrel, the winner becomes the head of the educated herd.

Listen to the voice of the African elephant

Elephants are in constant migration. When a herd travels a long distance, it can unite with other small herds into one large one. Elephants move due to droughts and lack of food.

A rare event— The mother elephant gave birth to twins.

The atmosphere in the herd is friendly. When in danger, elephants help each other out. They are very kind to their offspring. Skirmishes arise between females for leadership and between males for females.

The basis of the diet - plant food. Every day an adult eats 450 kg of food, this process takes most days. These animals sleep standing up, the herd forms a circle, with their heads facing the center. Elephants have very poor vision and navigate by sounds and smells. They love to swim and are excellent swimmers. These animals are very clean.

forest elephant

Forest elephants are also inhabitants of the African continent, its western regions. Habitat: tropical forests near the Congo River. Its size is smaller than that of a savannah elephant. Height - up to 2.5 meters, individuals higher are extremely rare. The shape of the ears is more rounded. The tusks are shorter, practically not curved, and directed downward. There are 5 toes on the forelimbs and 4 on the hind limbs. The skin of a forest elephant is darker and their hair is thicker. The main food is leaves, tree bark, fruits. The population is very small, the exact number is not known, forest elephants are being exterminated en masse.