African Elephants

Government of Nigeria has recently seized 2.5 tonnes of African elephants tusks worth $11.2 million.

About the African Elephants:

• The African Elephants are the largest land animals that are native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
• It has 2 subspecies- the African Bush Elephant and the African Forest Elephant.
• Habitat: Savannas, forests, grasslands, arid regions, tropical rainforests, mopane and miombo woodlands.

African Bush Elephant vs African Forest Elephant:

• Both are social herbivores with grey folded skin, but differ in the size and colour of their tusks and in the shape and size of their ears and skulls.
• African Forest Elephant is smaller than the African Bush Elephant.

Description:

• Short hair grows on the trunk, which has 2 finger-like processes at the tip, whereas Asian elephants only have one.
• Both male and female African elephants have tusks.

Behaviour and Reproduction:

• Both African elephant species live in family units comprising several adult cows, their daughters and their subadult sons.
• African elephants are the animals with the lowest sleep times viz. 2 hours in 24-hour cycles.
• Calves are born after a gestation period of up to nearly 2 years.
• The calves are cared by their mother and other young females in the group, known as allomothering.

Conservation Status:

• IUCN:
  • African Bush Elephant– Endangered
  • African Forest Elephant– Critically Endangered
• CITES: Appendix I

Ref: Source