Elephants are used as working animals in Asia. Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflicts with local people. One of the biggest threats to elephant populations is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory tusks. They appear to have self-awareness, and possibly show concern for dying and dead individuals of their kind.Īfrican bush elephants and Asian elephants are listed as endangered and African forest elephants as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Elephant intelligence has been compared with that of primates and cetaceans. They communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound elephants use infrasound and seismic communication over long distances. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. Calves are the centre of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years. They enter a state of increased testosterone and aggression known as musth, which helps them gain dominance over other males as well as reproductive success. Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate. Males (bulls) leave their family groups when they reach puberty and may live alone or with other males. The leader of a female group, usually the oldest cow, is known as the matriarch. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. Elephants have a fission–fusion society, in which multiple family groups come together to socialise. They are considered to be keys tone species, due to their impact on their environments. They are herbivorous, and they stay near water when it is accessible. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.Įlephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and are found in different habitats, including savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth and grasping objects. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive grey skin. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea extinct relatives include mammoths and mastodons. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. A female African bush elephant in Mikumi National Park, TanzaniaĬladistically included but traditionally excluded taxaĮlephants are the largest existing land animals.

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