DID YOU KNOW?

African elephants are the largest land mammals on the planet.

At birth, an elephant calf weighs about 230 lbs!

An adult elephant can weigh from 4,000 lbs up to 13,000 lbs!

DID YOU KNOW?

African Elephants have a great sense of smell – better than a dogs! 

Elephants use their sensitive trunks to constantly sniff and touch the world around them.

The tip of an elephant’s trunk is much more sensitive than the tips of your fingers.

DID YOU KNOW?

Elephants are big talkers!

Elephants use dozens of different sounds to communicate with each other.

Elephants can purr as means of communicate, just like cats do. Listen to the audio here.

Some of these sounds are too low to be heard by human ears.

The low sounds travel long distances, so elephants can hear each other, even when the herd is spread out.

Elephants can also use their feet to listen.

Elephant herds can set off vibrations in the ground when they move, so Elephants far away can pick up these vibrations through their feet. This helps them keep track of each other.

DID YOU KNOW?

Elephants are very expressive creatures!

Elephants can display annoyance, anger, and fear by flapping their ears and spreading them wide, lowering their trunks, and kicking up dust.

DID YOU KNOW?

There are two types of elephants in Africa: savanna elephants and forest elephants.

The biggest distinctions between the two types elephants are their size, ears, and tusks.

Savanna elephants are much larger than Forest elephants.

The Savanna Elephant’s ears are shaped like the African Contentment, where as the Forest Elephant’s ears have a more rounded shape.

Also the Savanna Elephant’s tusks are larger and curve outwards, where as the Forest Elephant tusks are short and stout!

DID YOU KNOW?

Elephants have a large appetite!

Each day, a single adult spends up to 18 hours munching down more than 500 pounds of grasses, roots, leaves, bark and fruits–the equivalent in weight to a human eating 1,000 steaks.

The animal also gulps more than 30 gallons of water a day!

DID YOU KNOW?

The oldest female elephant is the leader of its elephant family unit!

Males leave their female-led birth groups as teenagers, striking up friendships with other families and other males.

Later, when mature, males seek out groups with fertile females for mating.

Ranging in size from two to 50, the family units link elephant societies together.

Research suggests that matriarch leadership matters most in stressful times.

A matriarch’s experience may help her group avoid predators.

DID YOU KNOW?

African elephants never evolved the ability to jump!

Most animals who jump, such as kangaroos and monkeys, do so to get away from predators. Elephants never have to worry about making a quick escape and use their large bodies and keep together in large herds as a form of protection.

Unlike most mammals, African elephant’s leg bones are pointed downward, which means they don’t have enough spring to push off the ground.