Dear friends,
we hope you had a fantastic Christmas!
Today we want to tell you about the African Elephant – the largest living terrestrial animal and one of the Big 5.
A male has a height of up to 3,50 meters with a weight of 5 tonnes. Females only have a height of 2,50 meters and a weight of up to 3 tonnes. Both male and female have tusks which are used for digging and for protection.
Compared to the Asian Elephant, the African Elephant has bigger ears and two fingers at the end of the trunk.
The big ears are very important, because elephants are not able to sweat. The heat can only be released by the ears or by cooling down in water.
Elephants love living near water, but also shadow and enough food are of importance. They eat grass, leaves, roots and some fruits. Every day an elephant eats about 250 kg (which takes up to 20 hours). They need up to 150 liters of water daily.
The elephant is a very peaceful animal and can get 70 years old. They have only few enemies and most get killed by human beings who sell their tusks. Luckily some organizations try to protect these beautiful animals!
Baby elephants are born after 22 months and throughout the year. After only half an hours they are able to stand and they get lactated for one year.
In Tanzania you can find many elephants. Specially Tarangire National Park is famous for the largest elephant herds in Africa.
Your guide will give you more interesting information about this animal, its social behavior and conservation.
World Air Travel & Tours 