KENNEDI WOODS

African Bush Elephant

Domain Kingdom

Phylum Class Order

Family Genus

Species

AnimaliaChordataMammalia

ProboscideaElephantidae

Loxodontaafricana

Loxodonta africana or Loxondonta africana

African Bush Elephant

Habitat

Bush elephant herds roam across 18 countries throughout eastern and southern parts of the African continent. Their fragmented populations are found primarily in and around wildlife reserves and sanctuaries, where they are safe from the twin threats of poaching and habitat destruction. While these adaptable animals live in many different habitats, including tropical forests and woodlands, they primarily graze in the grasslands of the African savanna.

Food Source

Despite it's immense size, the African Bush Elephant is a herbivorous mammal. The bulk of the African Bush Elephant's diet is comprised of leaves and branches that are stripped off the trees and bushes using it's trunk. The African Bush Elephant also grazes on fruits and grasses and uses it's immense tusks for digging for roots in the ground and to strip the bark of trees. Food is fed into it's mouth using the trunk, and the large, flat teeth of the African Bush Elephant are then the perfect tool for grinding the vegetation and course plants down so that they can then be more easily digested. A single adult bush elephant consumes between 220 and 660 pounds of vegetation per day.

Reproduction

Female African Bush Elephants reach sexual maturity after 10 or 11 years, but are thought to be most fertile between the ages of 25 and 45. Male African Bush Elephants however, often don't reach sexual maturity until they are nearly 20 years old. After mating and a gestation period of up to 2 years, the female African Bush Elephant gives birth to a single calf.

Endangered or Extinct Status

Sadly, due to an increase of outside interest in Africa and its exotic wonders, the African Bush Elephant population took a devastating decline towards extinction. After having been brutally killed by poachers for years for their ivory, African Bush Elephants had vanished from much of their native habitat. In 1989 a worldwide elephant ivory hunting ban fell into place, after the populations had dropped so dramatically across the continent. Today, although recovering, African Bush Elephant populations are still threatened from increasing levels of illegal poaching and habitat destruction.

Current Population

 In northern and central parts of Africa, the African Bush Elephant is now rare and confined to protected areas, and although the story is similar in the south, South African Elephant populations are thought to be doing better with an estimated 300,000 individuals in the region.

Unique Facts

The large ears of the African Bush Elephant are said by some to be shaped somewhat like Africa, but these large flaps of skin are not just for hearing, they are a vital tool in keeping the Elephant cool in the African heat. Like many of the herbivores found throughout Africa, the calves can walk at birth to maximize their chances of survival. An adult African Bush Elephant can drink up to 50 gallons of water every day, and is able to take 1.5 gallons of water into their trunks at time.

African Bush Elephant

African Bush Elephant

References

http://animals.pawnation.com/habitat-bush-elephant-2819.html

http://a-z-animals.com/animals/african-bush-elephant/