Elephants are the largest living land animals , characterized by their long trunk (elongated upper lip and nose), columnar legs, ivory tusks, and huge head with wide flat ears. They are found most often in savannas , grasslands , and forests , but they occupy a wide range of habitats, including deserts , swamps , and highlands in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia .

elephant

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elephant summary

elephant

Q: What do elephants eat?

Elephants are herbivores : they eat a range of plants, including grasses, fruit, and roots. An adult elephant consumes about 100 kg (220 pounds) of food and 100 litres (26 gallons) of water per day. These amounts can be double for a hungry and thirsty individual. Such consumption makes elephants an important ecological factor, because it substantially affects and even alters the ecosystems elephants live in.

Q: How many different species of elephants are there?

There are three different species of elephants: the African savanna, or bush, elephant , the African forest elephant , and the Asian elephant . The African forest elephant, recognized as a separate species in 2000, is smaller than the savanna elephant. There are three subspecies of Asian elephant: the Indian (or mainland), the Sumatran, and the Sri Lankan.

Q: How long is the gestation period for elephants?

Elephants gestate for 18 to 22 months, which is the longest gestation period of any mammal.

Q: Are elephants endangered?

Asian and African elephants are listed as endangered species . They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching . At the beginning of the 21st century, fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants remained in the wild. From 1979 to 1989 the number of African elephants in the wild was reduced by more than half, from 1,300,000 to 600,000, partly as a result of commercial demand for ivory.

mammal

Also known as: Elephantidae

Written by Jeheskel (Hezy) Shoshani

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jan 11, 2025 • Article History

Related Topics:: African forest elephant; woolly mammoth; mammoth; imperial mammoth; Asian elephant

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What are elephants?

What do elephants eat?

How many different species of elephants are there?

How long is the gestation period for elephants?

Are elephants endangered?

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elephant, (family Elephantidae), largest living land animal, characterized by its long trunk (elongated upper lip and nose), columnar legs, and huge head with temporal glands and wide, flat ears. Elephants are grayish to brown in colour, and their body hair is sparse and coarse. They are found most often in savannas, grasslands, and forests but occupy a wide range of habitats, including deserts, swamps, and highlands in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia. The African savanna, or bush, elephant (Loxodonta africana) weighs up to 8,000 kg (9 tons) and stands 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 feet) ...(100 of 2583 words)

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