About Elephant

The elephant is the largest living land mammal. The word "elephant" came from a Greek word “ἐλέφας” meaning ‘Elephant’ or ’Ivory’.  They are the only mammal which can’t jump.

Physical characteristics: Elephants have very thick skin that helps them cool. Elephant’s bodies are covered with brown to dark gray in color and have long, coarse hairs sparsely. The elephant's gestation period is the longest of any land animal. An elephant calf is born after 22 months of gestation period. An elephant calf weight is 120 kg. An adult male elephant height is 5 to14 ft at shoulders. They are Up to 30 ft long from trunk to tail in length. An adult male elephant weight is about 12,000 kg. They are eyes are small and it is the cause of poor eyesight. They have the largest brains among the animal. They have very big four legs and round feet. They have short tails too. Life Span of average elephants is up to 70 years, sometimes longer.

Kinds of Elephant:  Elephants are mainly 2 kinds. First is known as African elephant and second is Asian or Indian elephant. Again African elephants are divided into two subspecies (1) Savannah and (2) Forest. Asian elephant is divided into four subspecies (1) Sri Lankan, (2) Indian, (2) Sumatran and (4) Borneo. There are many differences between the two species overall size, ear, tusks and shape.

African Elephant: African Elephant is called “the loxodonta Africana”. The “Savannah” and “Forest” are two subspecies of African elephants. African savannah elephants are found in savannah zones in 37 countries. Most of the savanna elephants are found in lake shores, open grasslands and marshes. The African savannah elephants are the biggest elephant all over the world. African elephant's ears are large, thin, and full of veins which help them to become cool. This is why when they feel hot that’s time they flap their ears. African elephants have almost hairless skin, a distinctive long, flexible, prehensile trunk. The African forest elephants are seen in African rain forests of central and western Africa. The forest elephant s is comparatively smaller and rounder than the savanna elephant.

Asian Elephant: The Asian Elephant is found in south-central Asia. They are mainly found in India, Sri Lanka, China, and south-east Asia. Their main characteristics are they are very large, grey in colour. They have almost hairless skin, a distinctive long, flexible, prehensile trunk. On the other hand the ears of Indian elephants are comparatively smaller than African elephants. They have five toes on the front of the feet and four on the back. The Asian elephants play an important role to Asian culture for thousands of years. Asian people are used elephants for religious festivals, transportation and to move heavy objects.

Foods Habit: Elephants are spending up to 16 hours a day for their eating. Their foods are highly variable, for both season and region. Elephants are usually eaten Grasses, leaves, bamboo, bark, roots, fruit and seed pods but they may also eat considerable grasses and herbs. It is a very wonder that elephants only digest 40% of what they eat. An adult elephant consumes 140 to270 kg of food in a day.  They drink lots of water too. An adult elephant sleeps only two plus hours per day. This is why because they are so big they have to eat most of the time of a day.

Threats: The Elephant main threat is human aggression. Human are hunting Elephant indiscriminately for their various need. Habitat destruction is other threat for Elephant. In the beginning of 20th century, it was estimated that there are 5 to 10 million Elephants, but only hunting and habitat destruction had reduced their numbers to 400,000 to 500,000 by the end of the century. Man are used Elephant for heavy labor, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the crush the condemned underfoot. They also use Elephant for zoo and circus. For this causes Elephants are diminishing day by day.

We should take proper steps to protect Elephant. People from all over the world should come forward for this purpose. Government both developed and undeveloped countries should take necessary steps to protect the largest land mammal.