AFRICAN ELEPHANT
Category : Majestic Elephants
The African elephant is the largest of the two species left in the world. They have extremely large ears and both the males and the females grow tusks. They can be more than 12 feet tall and weight about 14,000 pounds. There are some sub species out there that are smaller with a height of about 9 feet and weighing approximately 7,500 pounds.
The African elephant is the king among the giants on land. No other land animal comes close to the size of these creatures. It would take 165 full-grown men to make up the same weight as the world’s record African elephant.
The noise of an elephant digesting its food (when its tummy’s growling) can be heard up to 600ft/183m away. Elephants actually have control over their digestive processes because they are able to stop the sounds of digestion when they sense danger.
The presence of African elephants helps to maintain suitable habitats for many other species. In central African forests, up to 30 percent of tree species may require elephants to help with dispersal and germination. They play a pivotal role in shaping their habitat because of the enormous impact they have on factors ranging from fresh water to forest cover.
Other animals, including humans,depend on the openings elephants create in the forest and brush and in the waterholes they dig.
Elephant dung(droppings) is important to the environment as well. Baboons and birds pick through dung for undigested seeds and nuts, and dung beetles reproduce in these deposits. The nutrient-rich manure replenishes depleted soils so
that humans can have a nutrient rich soil to plant crops in.
Elephant Droppings are also a vehicle for seed dispersal. Some seeds will not germinate unless they have passed through an elephant’s digestive system.
There once was a time that the African elephant roamed most all of the African Continent. It was estimated that around 7-10 million elephants existed in the 1930’s. Today that number is a shocking 300,000 individuals and still declining at a rapid pace. Demand for ivory, combined with habitat loss from human settlement, has led to a dramatic decline in elephant populations.
With statistics like this the African elephant is doomed for extinction in 15-20 years, unless we can put a stop to these illegal activities through education and alternative ways of providing income in communities that assist in the ivory trade. Ivory has become more valuable than gold. In fact, ivory has been called “white gold”.
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