Elephant

The African elephant Loxodonta Africana is the largest living land mammal. The African elephant is one of only two species of elephants alive today, the other species is the smaller Asian elephant Elephas maximus which inhabits southeast Asia. The African elephant has larger ears than the Asian elephant. The two front incisors of African elephants grow into large tusks that curve forward.

Tusks are present in both sexes of African elephants. In Asian elephants, only males grow tusks. Like all elephants, African elephants have a long muscular trunk. The tip of the trunk has two fingerlike outgrowths, one at the top edge of the tip and another on the bottom edge. Asian elephants have only one outgrowth at the tip of their trunk, along its top edge.

In both species, these outgrowths enable the elephant it to pick up small objects and strip leaves from trees. African elephants, like most elephants, require a great deal of food to support their large body size. They can eat up to pounds of food each day and their foraging can drastically alter the landscape. The African elephant's predators include lions, hyenas, and humans.

The basic social unit in African elephants is the maternal family unit. Sexually mature males also form groups while old bulls are somtimes solitary. Large heards can form, in which the various maternal and male groups mix. The main threat facing African elephants is hunting and habitat destruction. The species is targetted by poachers who hunt the elephants for their valuable ivory tusks.