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Elephants
Key Facts
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Common Name
Elephant; Elephant (Fr); Elefante (Sp)
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Scientific Name
Elephas maximus (southern Asia), Loxodonta africana (Africa)
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Location
Africa, Asia
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Height
Upto 400 cm
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Weight
Upto 7,500 kg
Elephant factsheets
- Asian Elephant Factsheet 817 KB pdf
- African Elephant Factsheet 854 KB pdf
Background
These large and magnificent creatures need a lot of food and freedom if they are to survive. They wander in small to large herds over sometimes incredibly large areas while consuming up to several hundred kilogrammes of plant matter in a single day.Elephants, in fact, place such great demands on their own environment that in order to survive, they frequently come into conflict with people who are competing for many of the same, often scarce, resources.
On the ground on two continents
In all, the problems facing elephants in Asia and Africa are varied and complex. To this end, WWF is involved in their conservation through 2 key programmes which address local key issues, the realities faced on the ground, and this ever present conflict with man. These programmes are:
Asian Rhinos and Elephants Action Strategy (AREAS): This ambitious Programme brings together cutting edge conservation biology with trade monitoring, socio-economic analysis, and policy advocacy, promising new hope for dwindling populations of these threatened pachyderms.
WWF African Elephant Programme: The Programme aims to conserve forest and savanna elephant populations across Africa by supporting projects that improve protection and management, build capacity within range states, mitigate human-elephant conflict and reduce illegal trade.
Physical Description
Elephants are identified by their massive bodies and their trunk, which is used to pick a variety of objects, including food. The head is large in relation to the rest of the body and the African species is noted for its very large ears. Hair is sparse.The Asian elephant has four hooves (occasionally five) on the hind foot and five on the forefoot, and the African elephant has three on the hind foot and five on the forefoot.
Size
Living members of the order Proboscidea have a maximum height of nearly 400 cm and a weight of up to 7,500 kg.
Habitat
Biogeographic realmIndo-Malayan, Afrotropical.
Geographical Location
Africa, Asia.