Elephant Pictures
Flying Turtle Zoo
Elephant
Family Tree
Elephants are in the family elephantidae and there are three species: African forest, African bush and Asian elephants. With African elephants both males and females have tusks while with Asian elephants only the males do. Asian elephants are also hairier.
Size and Life Expectancy
Males are around ten feet (3 meters) tall at the shoulder. Elephants typically weigh between 7,000 and 13,000 lbs (3,200 and 5,900 kgs). Males are larger than females. Elephants can live over 60 years.
Range and Habitat
Elephants live in Africa and Asia. They live in forests and on grasslands.
Diet
Elephants eat a lot of grass but also eat leaves and twigs and sometimes fruits and seeds.
Predators
Humans
Extra Fun Facts
Elephants are the largest land animals. Old elephants generally die of starvation because their last set of teeth fall out. An adult elephant eats like 450 lbs (200 kg) of food every day but they don’t have very good digestive systems and so a lot of what they eat isn’t absorbed into their body. They drink 30 -50 gallons (110 – 190 liters) of water every day. The reason that they are always wallowing in the mud is to get a layer of dirt between their skin and the sun’s intense rays. The mud also helps to cool them off as do their big ears which can let a lot of heat out because of their large surface area. Females live together but adult males usually live alone. Elephants are endangered because of poaching and habitat loss. Elephants are nice: they take care of elephants with problems and are upset when a companion dies. Elephants are dangerous, killing hundreds of people every year.