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Fun facts about Elephants #factfriday with Ricky

Fact friday with Amy

Hi, I’m Ricky and I’m 15 years old. I live in a game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal and I’d like to tell you more about elephants.

I hope you enjoy my fun #factfriday!

The different species are known as the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana), African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus). Both the Savanna Elephant (sometimes called the Bush Elephant) and Forest Elephant are found within Africa, meanwhile the Asian Elephant (sometimes called the Indian Elephant) being found in Asia. The two African species have large ears roughly resembling the shape of the African continent. The Asian Elephant has smaller ears, similar to the shape of the Indian subcontinent.

asian elephant

Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

Typically, elephants have 5 toes at the bottom of their stumpy feet however, not every toe has a toenail. This is also where there is another difference between the species. The African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant usually have 5 toenails on their front feet and 4 toenails on their back feet. The African Savanna elephant is different and has 4 toenails on its front feet and 3 toenails on its back feet.

African elephant

African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana)

Typically, elephants have 5 toes at the bottom of their stumpy feet however, not every toe has a toenail. This is also where there is another difference between the species. The African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant usually have 5 toenails on their front feet and 4 toenails on their back feet. The African Savanna elephant is different and has 4 toenails on its front feet and 3 toenails on its back feet.

The Forest Elephant is found in the rainforests of West Africa and the Congo. The Forest Elephant is the smallest of the 3 species, growing just over 2 metres tall, and both the male and female have small straight tusks. It is listed as critically endangered. The African Savanna Elephant is the largest living land mammal, can get up to 4 metres tall and both sexes have tusks, with male tusks recorded to have grown up to 3,5 metres. It is listed as endangered. The Asian Elephant is mid-size, usually under 3 metres tall and the females usually lack tusks. It is listed as endangered.

Below are some more interesting facts about elephants:

  • Elephants are highly intelligent, have a deep family bond, take care of one another and remember their dead
  • The African genus Loxodonta gets its name from the lozenge shaped teeth
  • Elephants can be lefties or righties, just like humans, depending on which tusk they like to use for fighting and digging up food
  • Elephants can communicate over large distances using infrasonic sound (sound that is so low it is silent to the human ear)
  • Elephants also use seismic communication, with the sound transmitted to the middle ear through their feet, legs and shoulder bones
  • Baby elephants are born with internal baby tusks, like milk teeth, called a tush, which act as a place holder for the true tusk to grow. These tushes fall out after 1 year
  • Elephant skins are very thick and wrinkly which helps keep them cool
  • In the two African species, the tip of the trunk has two prehensile extensions which they use like hands, meanwhile the Asian elephant has only one
  • Elephants cannot jump but they can run up to 25 miles (40km) per hour, always keeping at least 1 foot on the ground
  • Baby elephants are born very hairy which helps them stay cool in hot climates
  • Elephants have very long eyelashes up to 5 inches long (13cm), which help prevent the eyes from drying out
  • Elephants spend about 16 hours of their day eating a wide variety of plant species and plant parts because their digestive system is very poor. This helps spread seeds and nutrients wherever they go, and becomes a dung beetle party place!
  • Elephants usually separate into breeding herds and older bulls. Breeding herds are matriarchal and led by the older females. It consists of all the females and young elephants up to teenage bulls
  • Teenage bulls are forced out of the herd as they get older and go in search of the older male bulls, who they will then join and learn how to become a responsible adult male elephant

There are entire books out there about the fascinating lives of elephants – too much to fit on this page. But two that I recommend reading are:

1. Elephant Memories by Cynthia Moss

2. Silent Thunder by Katy Payne

I hope you enjoyed my fact friday for kids. I will be back with more fun facts in a couple weeks. Until then, I will hand over #factfriday back to the adults.

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