Zoology Essay

African Elephant

Zoology, also known as animal biology is the branch of science that studies the
animal kingdom. It includes the ​study of the behaviour, structure, physiology,
classification, evolution, habits and distribution of all animals on the planet. A
person who studies zoology is called a zoologist.

My zoology essay is on the African Elephant. ​African elephants are the largest
land animals on the Earth. ​They have characteristic long trunks, large, floppy
ears and wide, thick legs. There are two species of elephant. The Asian elephant
and the African elephant. I will be focusing on the African elephant. African
elephants are the larger of the two species. They grow, on average, between 2.5
and 4 metres high, from shoulder to toe and they weigh, on average, 2,268 to
6,350 kilograms.

The scientific name for African Elephants is ​Loxodonta​ ​africana​. ​African

elephants are elephants of the genus Loxodonta. Loxodonta is one of two
existing genera of the family Elephantidae. The other genus is the Elphas.
Preliminary studies have indicated there are at least two subspecies of African
elephants, the Savanna Elephants, or ​Loxodonta​ ​africana​ a ​ fricana​, and the
Forest Elephants, or ​Loxodonta​ ​africana​ cyclotis. ​ African Elephants are slightly
larger than their Asian cousins ​Elphas​ ​maximus.
African elephants have many different adaptations that make them better suited
to their surroundings and allow them to survive. African elephants have a long
and flexible trunk which allows them to reach high into trees to get food. They
can also use their trunks to suck up and spray water onto their skin. ​Elephants
are fond of water and enjoy showering by sucking water into their trunks and
spraying it all over themselves.​ This adaptation helps them to cool off in their
very hot and dry climate, as sometimes the African heat can be too much.
Afterwards, they often spray their skin with a protective coating of dust.​ ​An
elephant's trunk is actually a long nose used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting,
drinking, and also for grabbing things, for example, a potential meal. The trunk
alone contains about 100,000 different muscles. African elephants have two
fingerlike features on the end of their trunk that they can use to grab small items.
Elephant ears radiate heat to help these large animals cool.​ Both male and
female African elephants have tusks they use to dig for food and water and strip
bark from trees. Their tusks are long, curved and sharp which allows them to dig.
Males use the tusks to battle one another. Elephants tusks are made of ivory,
which is a hard solid white material. The ivory has unfortunately attracted
violence of a far more dangerous sort. Because ivory is so valuable to some
humans, many elephants have been hunted and killed for their tusks. This trade
is illegal today, but it has not been completely eliminated, and some African
elephant populations remain endangered as they are continued to be hunted.

African elephants are herbivores. This means they only eat plants. They do not
eat animals. An elephants can consume between 149 kg and 169 kg of
vegetation in a single day. N​early 80% of an elephant’s day is spent feeding.
Elephants consume grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and
roots. ​These animals require large quantities of food to sustain their massive
bodies. They do not sleep very often and roam over great distances of land while
foraging for food. In addition to​ the diet, elephants will dig up soil to acquire
different salts and minerals from the earth. The tusks are used to churn the
ground. The elephant then places the loose pieces of soil into its mouth, to obtain
nutrients. These areas can often result in holes in the ground that are several
feet deep and vital minerals are made accessible to other animals.

Elephants require between 68.4 L to 98.8 L of water each day to survive in the
dry, hot African climate.

Female elephants, or cows live in family herds with their young, but adult males,
or bulls tend to roam on their own. Having a baby elephant is a serious
commitment. Elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal in the
world. THey can last up to 22 months. Cows usually give birth to one calf every
two to four years. At birth, elephants already weigh up to 200 pounds and stand
about 3 feet tall.

African elephants, unlike their Asian relatives, are not easily domesticated.
African elephants inhabit a diverse array of habitats including tropical forests,
savannas, grasslands, and woodlands. African elephants have a sub-Saharan
distribution, with forest elephants primarily inhabiting western and central regions
of Africa and savanna elephants inhabiting the eastern and southern regions.
Both Asian and African elephants migrate and generally follow the same
migratory routes annually. Migration distances vary greatly depending on
different environmental conditions. During a long dry season in Africa, elephant
migration distances were recorded to extend over 100 km. African elephants
usually migrate at the beginning of the dry season, between June and November.
They head toward more liveable locations near rivers and sources of water that
are not prone to drying out. When the rainy season arrives, usually from October
to December and March to June, elephant herds return to native regions to feed
on the lush, green vegetation the rains helped regenerate. Elephant migration
allows time for the regrowth of vegetation in exhausted grazing areas.

African elephants are estimated to have a total population between 400,000 and
660,000 individuals. The average lifespan of elephants is about 65 years of age
or more. Humans are the greatest threat to all elephant populations. Although
carnivores, such as lions, hyenas and crocodiles may prey upon young,
sick,orphaned or injured elephants. The main threats to today’s elephant
populations are habitat loss and poaching. Elephants can require between a few
hundred square kilometers up to a few thousand square kilometers of habitat as
a home range. With increased human settlement, elephant migration routes have
been greatly destructed. African elephant populations are also threatened by
poachers. African elephants in particular are hunted for the valuable ivory in their
large tusks, even though it is now illegal.
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