There are many proverbs and sayings in the world in which the main character is an elephant. For example, the saying about the clumsiness of a person "is like an elephant in a china shop." There is another saying - “as an elephant’s pellet”. This expression contrasts the big with the very small, insignificant, as well as the phrase "elephant and pug".
The popularity of this animal is nothing strange. After all, an elephant is a unique mammal, the largest on earth, the size of which simply cannot fail to attract close attention to it. Elephants are heroes of fairy tales not only in African and Asian countries, but even in those countries in which they are not found, such as Russia, for example. They are very interesting to all lovers of flora and fauna, especially people often wonder about the size and weight of these amazing mammals - inhabitants of African savannahs. So how much does an African elephant weigh - not an Indian, but an inhabitant of the Black Continent?
Answer to this question is definitely not possible, because each of the elephants has an individual height and weight, like every person, in fact. For example, males and females weigh differently, the latter in this parameter are much inferior to the first. But to designate an approximate weight - yet the problem is quite solvable.
African elephant weight
How much an African elephant weighs in tons - scientists who study these mammals by virtue of their professional duties know about it. According to their data, an elephant may have a weight of 12 tons, but this is rare. The average elephant weighs from 2.5 to 7 tons (from 2500 to 7000 kg). Males weigh twice the size of females.
By the way, the heavy weight of an elephant does not make it clumsy. The elephant is a beautiful and elegant mammal, and the sayings stating the opposite are not at all true. This is a slander on an animal!
Opinion about the clumsiness of an elephant consists of false impressions after visiting a zoo or a circus. An elephant, being in a cramped cage, behaves unnaturally, because he sees his painful movements in conditions unusual for him and it seems that this animal is completely devoid of grace. But those who have been to Africa and have seen an elephant in the wild will say that they simply do not have more gracefulness compared to other mammals of similar parameters.
Before you start looking for answers to the question of how much an African elephant weighs, you must first find out what it is. It turns out that African elephants are of two types: forest and savannah. They are slightly different from each other, but not in size. Forest elephants are much smaller than their steppe relatives.
The male and female of the savannah species weigh 7 and 2.8 tons, respectively. The length of the first can reach 7.5 meters and have a height of up to 3.5 meters.
About elephants, enemies and longevity
No need to think that elephants, having such a gigantic size, feel at ease and fearlessly. Adults individuals constantly have to protect elephants, on which lions love to hunt - predators, very dangerous and agile, recognized for their strength and majestic posture as "kings of animals."
If someone is interested to find out how much an African elephant weighs in kilograms, only when born, then let's say: a baby can weigh up to 140 kg.
Elephants live about the same as humans. By the age of 20 they are already fully formed. However, when the baby elephant has reached the age of ten, it is already beyond the reach of predators.
True nature lovers who know how much African elephants weigh in kg, also know about the habitats of African elephants. It is known that they live in the south of the desert lands of the Sahara. However, their habitat significantly narrowed after a mass extermination in the XIX century.
Today, elephants live only on the lands of national parks and reserves. It is here that they are in relative safety, although poachers sometimes visit and here - they are not constrained even by the possibility of jail and legal punishment for killing protected animals.
Asian elephants - "younger brothers" of African
Having learned how much an African elephant weighs, it is easy to compare it with a fellow from Asia. Asian elephants weigh much less than their relatives from Africa. The largest individuals can reach only 5 tons, so that in battle with the African elephant, the Asian cannot resist. By the way, the battle between the elephants can last for hours. The longest time battle was recorded, which lasted 10 hours and 56 minutes.
It's curious
Finally, briefly about the curious. So, elephants:
- Great swimmers and lovers of water.
- Do not know how to bounce.
- They know how to listen with their feet.
- Serve the person. But only Asian elephants.
What matters is not how much an African elephant weighs, but how many elephants are left on our planet, where wild animals today have to fight for survival. Now, only 600,000 African elephants live on Earth. In comparison with the number of people, this figure is simply negligible.
The content of the article
- How much does an elephant weigh
- Why in Zimbabwe 50 tons of ivory have accumulated
- What kind of animal - water buffalo
The elephant is the largest land animal on the planet. Its weight depends on its type and origin and can reach 8 tons or more. The enraged elephant is very dangerous, in anger he sweeps away everything in its path. There are cases when people died under the powerful legs of elephants.
Types and weight of elephants
If we compare the existing land animals by their strength and position, then the first place in this chain will be taken by an elephant - the most important and powerful beast of Africa. The following places will be taken by the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus and the herd of buffalo, and only after them will the Lion the King of Beasts climb this hierarchical ladder The rest of the animals in strength, dexterity and endurance can no longer be compared with these masters of African shrouds, they easily become the prey of lions, who do not refuse to be able to hunt larger and stronger animals.
Three species of elephants are known - Forest, Indian, and Savannah (African). All of them belong to the same family of mammals - elephants. The first type is the smallest representative of this family. Its height varies between 2.4 and 2.5 meters, and its weight rarely exceeds 2.7 tons. The Indian elephant is much larger than Forest, although it is far from the African fellow. In the ranking of the largest land mammals on the planet, he ranks second. An adult male is 2.5-3.5 meters tall, and his weight can reach 5.5 tons.
The African or Savannaya elephant has no equal in strength and power, its height can reach 4 meters and yours, and the weight can reach 8 tons. Females weigh much less - 3-4 tons, a newborn baby elephant is born with a weight of 80-140 kg. November 7, 1974 in Angola in the town of Mukusso was shot the largest male elephant ever recorded, he weighed 12.24 tons!
How much does an elephant eat and drink
The fourth part of the weight of the animal falls on its head. This massive structure has a special device for eating - powerful chewing muscles, molars, trunk and tusks. An adult weighs as much as 4 rhino or 4 giraffe. On the day the beast consumes up to 350 kg of feed and drinks up to 230 liters of water. In search of food, an African elephant passes per day up to 12 km, taking a break for sleep and rest. Elephants travel in groups in which members of individual families are very attached to each other, although sometimes there are clashes, as in any family. Fights in the herd are very rare except when the males fight for the female.
Weight of elephants by type
African elephants (Lokhodonta) are referred to as Savannaya elephants (Lokhodonta afrika), Forest elephant (Lokhonta sylsis) and Dwarf elephant (Lokhodt creutzburgi). The species of Indian elephants (Elérhas) is represented by the Indian elephant (Elerhas maximus), the Cypriot dwarf elephant (Elehas Cypriots), and the Sicilian dwarf elephant (Elehrhas fаnsioni). Also known is the forest straight-nosed elephant (Ralaeolokhodon antiquus) and many other species.
Weight of african elephant
African elephants (Lohonta) are a genus of mammals from Africa belonging to the order trunk group. According to the assumptions of scientists, this genus is represented by two modern species: the savannah elephant (Lokhodonta afriña) and the forest elephant (Lokhodonta syllotis). According to recent studies of nuclear DNA, these two African species of the genus Lohodont formed about 1.9 and 7.1 million years ago, but relatively recently they were considered to be sub-species (Lochoda afrisana afrisana and L. africanana cyclótis). Today, the selection of the third species, the East African elephant, remains in question.
African elephants are deservedly the heaviest in terms of weight.. The average weight of a well-developed adult male can be 7.0-7.5 thousand kilograms or about seven and a half tons. Such a significant mass of the animal is due to the height of the African elephant, which ranges from three to four meters at the withers, and sometimes slightly higher. At the same time, forest elephants are the smallest members of the family: the height of an adult individual rarely exceeds 2.5 meters, with a weight of 2500 kg or 2.5 tons. Representatives of the subspecies Savannah elephant, by contrast, are the largest animals in the world. The average weight of a mature male can be 5.0-5.5 tons or more, with an animal height between 2.5 and 3.5 meters.
It is interesting! The currently existing half a million individuals of the African elephant are one fourth of the representatives of the subspecies Forest Elephant and approximately three quarters are the Savanny elephant.
There are no land animals on the planet that could weigh at least half the average body weight of an African elephant. Of course, the female of this species is somewhat smaller in size and weight, but sometimes it is quite difficult to distinguish it from the mature male. The average length of an adult African elephant female varies from 5.4 to 6.9 m, with a height of up to three meters. The weight of an adult female is about three tons.
Indian elephant weight
Asian elephants, or Indian elephants (lat. Elerhas makhimus) - mammals belonging to the order Proboscis. At present, they are the only modern species from the genus Asian elephant (Elérhas) and representative of one of the three modern species belonging to the family of elephant species. Asian elephants are the second largest land animals after the savannah elephants.
The size of the Indian or Asian elephant is very impressive. By the end of their lives, the oldest males reach a body weight of 5.4–5.5 tons, with an average height of 2.5–3.5 meters. The female of this species is noticeably smaller than the male, so the average weight of such an adult animal is only 2.7-2.8 tons. Among the smallest representatives of the order of the Trunk and the species of Indian elephants in size and weight is the subspecies from the island territory of Kalimantan. The average weight of such an animal rarely exceeds 1.9-2.0 tons.
The large size and impressive body weight of Asian elephants is due to the feeding habits of such a mammal.. All four modern subspecies of Asian elephants, including the Indian elephant (E. m. Indisus), the Sri Lankan or Ceylon elephant (E. m. Maximus), and the Sumatran elephant (E. m. Sumatrénsis) and the Bornish elephant (E. m . borneensis), absorb large amounts of food. About twenty hours a day, these elephants spend on searching and eating all sorts of food of plant origin. At the same time, one adult individual eats about 150-300 kilograms of grassy crops, bamboo and other vegetation per day.
The amount of daily eaten feed is approximately 6-8% of the total body weight of a mammal. In a small number of elephants eaten bark, roots and foliage of plants, as well as fruits and flowers. Long grass, foliage and shoots are cut off by the elephants by means of a flexible trunk. Too short grass is dug out with the help of powerful kicks. The bark with too large branches is scraped off by the molars, and the branch itself is held at this time by the trunk. Agricultural crops, including rice fields, plantations of bananas or sugar cane, are eagerly ruined by elephants. That is why Indian elephants are classified as the largest “pests” of agriculture.
It is interesting! The total number in the populations of Asian elephants is now relatively slowly but surely approaching critical levels, and today there are only about twenty-five thousand uneven-age individuals of this species on our planet.
Some scientists and experts believe that their origin Asian elephants are obliged to stegodon, which is explained by similar habitat. Stendogones belong to the extinct genus of proboscis mammals, and the main difference is the structure of the teeth, as well as the presence of a stronger, but compact skeleton. Modern Indian elephants prefer to settle in light tropical and subtropical deciduous forests with dense undergrowth, represented by shrubs and especially bamboo.
Baby elephant weight at birth
Elephants are characterized by the longest gestation period among all currently known mammals. Its total duration is 18-21.5 months, but the fetus reaches full development already by the nineteenth month, after which it only gradually grows, increasing in weight and size. The female elephant, as a rule, brings one cub, but sometimes a pair of elephants appears at the light. The average body weight of a newborn baby is 90-100 kg with a height in the shoulders of the order of one meter.
A newborn baby elephant has tusks with an average length of 4-5 cm. The modified teeth fall out of an elephant by the age of two, in the process of replacing milk teeth with adults. Youngsters get up on their feet about a couple of hours after birth, after which highly nourishing mother's milk begins to actively suck. The female “sprays” dust and earth on the calf with the help of a trunk, which makes it easy to dry the skin and effectively mask the smell of predatory animals. A few days after birth, the cubs are already able to follow their herd. When traveling, a baby elephant is held by its trunk by the tail of its older sister or mother.
Important! Only at the age of six or seven years, young individuals begin to gradually separate from the family clan, and the final expulsion of mature animals occurs in the twelfth year of the mammal.
All lactating females in the same herd are engaged in feeding elephants. The period of dairy feeding lasts one and a half or two years, but the elephantfish begin to actively eat all kinds of vegetation from the age of six months or seven months. Maulous feces are also eaten by elephants, which promotes the ingestion of a growing baby with undigested nutrients and symbiotic bacteria necessary for the absorption of cellulose. Maternal care for offspring lasts for several years.
Record breakers by weight
International official recognition is relatively recently deserved by one of the pupils of the famous Safari Park located in the city limits of Romat-Gan. The elephant named Yossi is the elder of this park and is recognized as the largest elephant in the world..
It is interesting! According to Science and Life, the skeleton of the giant elephant Archidiskódon meridiónalis Nésti who lived on our planet about one and a half million years ago was 80% preserved, and now experts are trying to completely restore the look of this prehistoric animal for the Guinness Book of Records.
An expert invited by the staff of the safari park managed to make careful measurements of the elephant Yossi. The results were very impressive - the weight of a mammal was about six tons with an increase of 3.7 meters. The tail of the representative of the Trunk detachment is one meter, and the trunk length is 2.5 meters. The total length of the ears Yosi - 120 cm, and his tusks for half a meter come forward.
The record for weight among all types of elephants was the African elephant savanna that was shot in 1974 in the territory of Angola. This adult male had a weight of 12.24 tons. Thus, a giant mammal hit the Guinness Book of Records pages only posthumously.
Elephant Weight Facts
The most interesting and unexpected facts related to elephant weight:
- The trunk belonging to the respiratory system is a multifunctional organ and allows the animal to collect tactile information, capture objects, and also participates in nutrition, smell, breathing and creating sounds. The length of the nose, which grows together with the upper lip, is 1.5-2 m and even a little more,
- A simple stomach of an adult Asian elephant female has a capacity of 76.6 liters and weighs about 17-35 kg, while African elephants have an average stomach volume of 60 liters and weighs between 36-45 kg,
- The elephant tripartite or two-portion liver also has quite impressive dimensions and weight. The mass of the liver in the female is 36-45 kg, and in the adult male - about 59-68 kg,
- вес поджелудочной железы взрослого слона составляет 1,9-2,0 кг, при этом отсутствуют достоверные данные о любых заболеваниях, которые вызывает какое-либо нарушение работоспособности этого органа,
- средняя масса сердца слона составляет примерно 0,5 % от общего веса млекопитающего – примерно 12-21 кг,
- слоны обладают самым большим по размерам и весу мозгом среди всех известных на нашей планете млекопитающих, а его средняя масса варьирует в пределах 3,6-6,5 кг.
Despite its gigantic size and impressive weight indicators, even adult elephants are able to run fast enough, as well as perform rather sharp and fast maneuvers, which is due to the unique structure of this majestic mammal for body weight.
How much does an elephant weigh at birth?
The biggest animals that inhabit the land of our planet are elephants. And although the African elephant is much larger than its Indian relative, it’s impossible to talk about size, since, all the same, they are just huge.
Elephants are among the most amazing animals. They especially love water treatments, watering themselves from their trunk. In general, the trunk for them is a multifunctional part of the body, because thanks to it the elephants breathe, drink, grab food, sniff, make sounds, wash themselves, etc.
Therefore, the trunk for an elephant is a peculiar hybrid of the nose with a hand, through which the capture, retention, movement of objects and the like takes place. By the way, the trunk of an elephant consists of about a hundred thousand muscles. African elephants have two small processes resembling a finger at the end of the trunk, while Indian elephants have only one such “finger”.
Asking how much an elephant weighs, it is important to consider the fact of a hungry elephant or a full one. After all, according to scientists, the elephant feeds about 2/3 of the total time, i.e. about 16 hours a day. At the same time, an adult elephant absorbs 300-450 kilograms of food of plant origin, washing it down with 200-300 liters of water.
Of course, young individuals of elephants are not able to arrange such a “feast of the abdomen”, however, they can eat 50 to 300 kilograms of vegetation in a day, washing it down with hundreds of liters of water. As for the question of how many tons an elephant weighs, it is important to know that the weight of an adult individual among African elephants is up to 7 tons in males and up to 3.5 tons in females. It should be borne in mind that this is the weight of a well-fed and not a hungry animal.
What is the pride of elephants? Of course, their rather powerful tusks. It is worth noting the fact that about a third of the size of the tusks is hidden under the skin in the body of elephants. And they grow all their life, so the older the elephant, the more tusks it has.
And since ivory was valued earlier and is now valued in humans, many elephants become victims of poachers who kill them solely for the sake of their tusks. Today, ivory trade is outlawed, but this type of black business has not yet been completely eliminated.
How much does an elephant weigh at birth? That the mass of a newborn baby elephant is from 85 to 120 kilograms. At the same time he is born with a short proboscis and without tusks.
There is a very interesting feature: with regard to the "growth" of an adult elephant, the highest point of the Indian are the crown of the head, and the African - the shoulders.
It is worth noting that elephants are herd animals, all individuals in a herd are related by kinship. They know how to diligently take care of their offspring, for this, there are even special young females in the herd who act as “nannies”.
In this way they prepare for the care of their future offspring. An interesting fact is that elephants are some of the animals that can laugh.
As for the question, how much does an Indian elephant weigh, its mass is much more modest - up to 5 tons for males and about 2.5-3 tons for females.
Elephants have a lifespan of approximately seventy years. However, this figure is quite arbitrary, since about 40% of males do not live to be fifteen years old. But at the same time, there are cases when in a zoo, individuals of elephants lived to be 82 years old, so there is no need to talk about average life expectancy.
But in general, it remains a mystery for a long time, where the dying elephants disappear. Of course, with age, when their molars are erased, they go to places where there is softer food. However, during their study, very few skeletons were found, which gave rise to many legends about the cemeteries of elephants that are inaccessible to the human eye.
Thus, elephants are not only one of the largest animals on Earth, but also one of the most intelligent, interesting and, at the same time, mysterious. And by the way, clever elephants are not called for nothing, because the brain weight of an adult individual reaches six kilograms. There is something to think about!
