Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Genus & Species: Loxodonta africana africana
APPEARANCE
The South African bush elephant is a subspecies of the African elephant and
therefore looks much like it. The males are 6-12 ft tall at shoulder height
and weigh 5000-14000 pounds. The females are smaller than the males. The
skin is a dark grey. Both males and females have tusks that grow 6-8 ft in
length and appear at the age of 3. The ears are large and cover the
shoulders. They weigh 110 pounds and measure up to 5 ft in height. The
forehead slopes downward. The trunk is long, up to 7 ft, and can weigh 300
pounds. It has 40000 muscles and ends in two fleshy projections. The tail is
short and weighs 22 pounds. The skull is large and filled with air sinuses,
making it very light for its size. The legs are long with the bones filled with a
spongy bone instead of marrow. The feet are cushioned with a thick, elastic,
fatty substance. The heart beats 34 times per minute. The skin is .8-1.5in
thick and is extremely sensitive to heat. The mouth contains 6 sets of 4 teeth
that continually grow until they fall out. When the sixth set of teeth is gone,
the elephant will starve and die, which is around the age of 50-60.
HABITAT
The South African bush elephant is found in the forests of east, central and
south Africa. They are active during the day and bathe 3-4 times each day.
FOOD
South African bush elephants spend 18-20 hours a day eating. They
consume 350-500 pounds of food daily, although half of that does not get
digested. They drink up to 50 gallons of water each day, using their trunks
to slurp up 1.5 gallons of water and squirt it into their mouths. They eat
grass, tree bark, shrubs, twigs, branches, fruit, flowers, thorns, soil to get
minerals, and roots.
ENEMIES
South African bush elephants have no natural enemies. They are
endangered due to the illegal poaching of their ivory.
BREEDING
Sexual maturity is reached at 10 years-of-age. The gestation period is 22
months and they give birth to a single calf. The calves can walk at birth.
They weigh 200 pounds and are 3 ft in shoulder height. They nurse for 3-4
years and are looked after by both the mother and midwives. They can eat
solids at six months.
RELATIVES
The South African bush elephant is a subspecies of the African elephant
along with the forest elephant, East African bush elephant, and West
African bush elephant. They are all related to the Asian elephant and its
subspecies.
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