(Loxodonto Africana)
Afrikaans
Zulu
Zulu
: Olifant
: Ndhlovo
: Ndhlovo
Shoulder Height
Mass
Gestation
Life span
Mating season
Mass
Gestation
Life span
Mating season
: up to 3,40 meters
: Male between 6000 - 7000 kgs, Female 4000 kgs
: about 22 months; a single calf of about 115 kgs, 1 meter height
: 55 - 65 years
: Throughout the year
: Male between 6000 - 7000 kgs, Female 4000 kgs
: about 22 months; a single calf of about 115 kgs, 1 meter height
: 55 - 65 years
: Throughout the year
The solitary bulls, moving from herd to herd, looking for receptive females to mate with in the mating season. Females are receptive for a few days, within 3-5 years.
A dark liquid is visible on the temples of the bulls when in "must", and often accompanied by continuously dripping urine, and in that state, a bull could become aggressive without giving a warning sign. A young bull in that state is ready to take on anyone at anytime and they can reach a speed of 40km/hr at full speed.
Young bulls join bachelor herds at about 12 years of age.
They can eat from 180-300 kg of food a day, and 40% of that will pass through undigested. They eat a big variety of foods, from trees to grass, including soil and sometimes dung from other Elephants to replace enzymes they need to digest their food.
They have two rows of teeth on the top of the mouth, and on the lower part, which will be replaced 6 times in the Elephants life time, the last set of teeth being the biggest, comes at a age of about 35, and will last till the Elephant dies, due to the teeth wearing done.
They have two rows of teeth on the top of the mouth, and on the lower part, which will be replaced 6 times in the Elephants life time, the last set of teeth being the biggest, comes at a age of about 35, and will last till the Elephant dies, due to the teeth wearing done.
Elephants can communicate with ultra sound we can not pick up, but they communicate with each other for miles, even through thick bush. They have censors in their gums to identify the smells they pick up. The African Elephant has 2 lips at the end of the trunk, (Asian Elephant 1)
The African Elephant has 4 toenails on each front foot, and 3 on back foot (Asian 5 and 4)
The ears of the African Elephant are bigger, and has the shape (co-incidentally) of the African continent, while the Asian Elephant has smaller ears and has the shape of the Indian continent.
The African Elephant has 4 toenails on each front foot, and 3 on back foot (Asian 5 and 4)
The ears of the African Elephant are bigger, and has the shape (co-incidentally) of the African continent, while the Asian Elephant has smaller ears and has the shape of the Indian continent.
Recently it has come to know that the adult bulls, although often solitary, place a big part in the stabilisation of the entire herd, especially the youngsters.
