AFRICAN ELEPHANT: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, REPRODUCTION - BIOLOGY - 2025

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is a placental mammal that is part of the Elephantidae family. One of its main characteristics is its fangs, which are present in both the male and the female. In addition, their ears are pointed, with a rectangular shape.

It has a large head, which is supported by a short neck. As for the trunk, it is a prehensile, long and muscular organ. This is derived from the lengthening of the upper lip and nose. At the tip are the nostrils.

African elephant. Source: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE

Also, at the end it has a ventral and dorsal projection, which it uses to grasp objects. The African elephant uses its trunk to drink water and to take food, to fell trees, during courtship and in the care of the young.

Habitat and distribution

Distribution

Loxodonta africana is distributed over wide expanses of continuous range in southern, eastern, and central Africa. However, communities are fragmented across the continent.

There are some remnant populations in Guinea-Bissau and Ethiopia. Likewise, some populations are separate, as in northern South Africa, and others are contiguous, such as in Tanzania, Gabon, Zambia, and Botswana.

They were previously present in the Gambia, Burundi and Mauritania, but are now extinct in those countries. They had also disappeared from Swaziland, but in recent years they have been successfully reintroduced into various populations.

Habitat

The African elephant is found in closed and open savannas, temperate and subtropical forests, rainforests, scrublands, and occasionally on beaches and deserts, such as Namibia and Mali.

However, motivated by the great threat of extinction that afflicts them, it is currently practically restricted to nature reserves and sanctuaries.

Also, it is found in grasslands, wetlands, dry and seasonally flooded forests and on some agricultural lands, at elevations from sea level to areas at 4500 meters.

On the other hand, the Loxodonta africana is in various latitudinal and altitudinal ranges, from ocean beaches to mountain slopes to ocean beaches. In addition, it lives in tropical regions from the north of the continent to the temperate area of ​​the south, between 16.5 ° north and 34 ° south.

Their movements within ecosystems are related to the seasonal availability of food, shade and water. There is some evidence that, in the past, this species moved from 402 to 644 kilometers between areas of dry and wet season.

State of conservation

African elephant populations are experiencing a significant decline throughout their natural habitat. This situation has caused the IUCN to categorize Loxodonta africana as a species vulnerable to extinction.

- Threats

Hunting

Historically, the poaching of this species has been the main cause of the decline of their populations. The African elephant is captured and killed to trade for its skin, meat, and tusks.

Despite the fact that the sale of ivory was banned internationally in 1989, its illegal trade has doubled between 2007 and 2014. Hunters mainly pursue males, because they have larger tusks than that of females.

This has caused communities to be biased by sex, affecting the possibilities of reproducing and, therefore, negatively influencing the survival of the species.

An example of this occurs in the Zakouma National Park in Chad. In 2005, this reserve had 3,900 African elephants, however, in a span of five years, more than 3,200 of these large mammals were killed.

On the other hand, in the Samburu National Reserve, between 2008 and 2012, 31% of the population of African elephants that lived in said park was killed.

Loss of habitat

The natural habitat of this species is fragmented, due to the expansion of human populations and the conversion of the land. Man cuts down and deforests forests for the establishment of livestock activities, non-wood crop plantations, and urban and industrial areas.

Likewise, activities such as mining modify the environment and provide poachers with easy access to the habitat of the African elephant.

As human development advances, the confrontation between man and elephants is more frequent. Farmers see their crops threatened, as the animal ventures into them in search of food and water. In the vast majority of cases they kill him, shoot him or poison him.

Conservation

The Loxodonta africana is included in appendices I and II of CITES. The African elephants in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa are in Appendix II, while those that inhabit the rest of the countries are protected by the rules contemplated in Appendix I.

Reproduction

- Sex organs

In females, the vagina and urethra open into the urogenital canal. This duct connects to the vulva, located between the hind legs.

As for the uterine horns, they are externally united in a large part of their extension, but internally they are separated, until very close to the vagina. The clitoris is highly developed and has a large erectile corpus cavernosum.

In males, the urethra is extended to the end of the penis. In relation to the testicles, they are not inside a scrotum. These remain in the intra abdominal area. The male reproductive system has 3 types of accessory glands: the prostate, the seminal vesicles and the bulbourethral glands.

- Mating

African elephants mature sexually from the age of 10 to 11. However, some factors, such as nutrition and drought, could influence this, so the beginning of the reproductive period could be delayed until 16 or 18 years.

Young males may start producing sperm at an early age, between 10 and 13 years old. However, it is highly unlikely that they could be victorious in the competition for a female with other adult males.

- Ovulation

The female of the Loxodonta africana is polyestric and monovular, since it produces a single egg in each estrus. Generally, before ovulation and fertilization, there are several sterile estrous cycles.

The duration of heat is approximately 2 to 6 days, and can extend up to 10 days. However, recent studies on hormone levels in oestrus females have shown that the entire cycle lasts between 14 and 16 weeks. In addition, there is usually a lactational anestrus, where the female does not go into heat while nursing the young.

- Courtship and copulation

The male can know the state of the female's estrus through the smell of urine and genitals. Also, the female can attract males using loud calls. Males often face each other, for the option of joining a female.

During the mating ritual, the male approaches the female and caresses her with his trunk. Also, interactions such as chopping, head butting, and tubal kinking often occur. While the females are in heat, they can mate with multiple males.

Mating could occur at any time of the year, although it is generally associated with the rainy season. This could be associated with the fact that the growth of the grass in the rainy season guarantees the African elephant better nutrition.

- Gestation and delivery

The duration of gestation is approximately 656 days. Before giving birth, the female may or may not withdraw from the herd, however, females often gather around the mother and her calf.

When the time of delivery is near, the female is restless, being able to scrape the ground with her front legs. Once the baby has been expelled, the umbilical cord is broken the moment it falls to the ground.

After this, the mother or other females of the group, remove the fetal membranes that surround it. Subsequently, the newborn is stimulated to stand, for which the female uses her trunk and fangs.

Feeding

The Loxodonta africana is herbivorous and its diet includes tree foliage, fruits, roots, bark, grasses, and branches. The fiber you eat comes primarily from chewing the bark, as it is rarely consumed.

When it comes to water, they usually drink around five gallons a day. They do this using their trunk, with which they suck the water from the fountain, temporarily retain it and then carry it to their mouth.

To supplement the diet, the minerals you need are obtained from water wells, termite mounds, and salt licks. The water they drink usually has high concentrations of sodium. In Kruger National Park, researchers point out that this mammal ingests wood ash, due to its mineral content.

Seasonal variations

The seasons have a strong influence on the diet. Thus, during the winter, the African elephant is prone to forage grass. However, in the dry season, they include leaves and bark. The bark is a food that, in addition to fiber, provides calcium, a highly nutritional and essential element in the mammalian diet.

Eating strategies

To knock down the bush and get the roots or bark, the African elephant can use its trunk. In addition, it can knock down the plant using its strong front legs.

Also, it can pluck long grass with its trunk, while short grass can separate it from the ground by kicking it with its front limbs. Likewise, with its trunk it can select fresh fruits or shoots from the trees.

Behavior

The African elephant establishes a strong bond between mother and calf. For example, if the newborn cannot reach her nipples to take in milk, the mother bends her front legs to bring her body closer and to facilitate breastfeeding.

During the first months, the female remains very close to the young, protecting him and helping him in everything he needs. Thus, she could reprimand her, hitting her with her trunk, or help her out of a muddy lake.

Generally, parental care lasts until early adolescence, however, after this stage, the mother can help the young person against any threat.

Females usually live in herds, consisting of a total of 6 to 70 mother elephants and their young. In these herds there is a matriarchal order, where the leadership is usually held by the largest and most dominant female.

As for the males, they tend to live alone or in conjunction with some males. Only the young are found within the herds, where they are kept until they can defend themselves or go out in search of a mate to reproduce.

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