African steppe elephant (scientific name:Loxodonta africana）, a species of elephant family and African elephant genus, named by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in 1825.Because of itsMolarsWith rhombic crown, the genus name of African elephant“Loxodonta”It evolved from the word "diamond".African steppe elephant is the most commonAfrican elephantIt is the largest living land animal in the world, with a body length of 5.4-7.5 meters, a tail length of 1-1.3 meters, a shoulder height of 2.7-3.3 meters, and a weight of 3-6 tons.The body is large, the hair color is gray, the rear hip is the same height as the front shoulder, and the ivory is extremely long and curved upward.Their highest record for tooth growth was 102.7 kg.
Produced inAfricaThey live in a variety of natural environments from sea level to 5000 meters above sea level, including forests, open grasslands, grasslands, thorn bushes and semi-arid jungles.They like to live in groups. Each group is commanded by female animals, forming groups of different sizes, usually 20-30.Most of its members are female offspring. Male animals have no place in the group. They must leave the group when they are 15 years old, and only occasionally return to the group during mating.They are herbivorous animals. They spend 16 hours a day collecting food. Their digestive system is not efficient, and only 40% of the food can be absorbed.
African Savanna Elephant,African Bush Elephant, African Savannah Elephant, Savanna Elephant, Savannah Elephant French el é phant de savane Spanish Elefante de Sabana
African steppe elephants are mostly considered to be untamable. In fact, in the 2nd century BCEgyptPtolemy Period, Bunic periodRomeTime, and in modern AfricaAbyssinia, domesticated elephants have appeared.The African steppe elephant can be completely tamed, especially the baby elephant.Adult wild elephants can also form the habit of getting close to researchers or curious tourists.Elephants know how to distinguish them from poachers and killers.African steppe elephants can also be trained.At the end of the 19th century,BelgiumEmperor ofleopold ii (Leopold II), in AfricazaireElephants are trained as service animals. They are very diligent and actively chase lions.If African grassland elephants are not very smart, they are only compared with Asian elephants.[5]
African steppe elephant
morphological character
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measurement:The African steppe elephant is the most common species of African steppe elephant. It is the largest living land animal in the world, with a body length of 5.4-7.5 meters, a tail length of 1-1.3 meters, a shoulder height of 2.7-3.3 meters, and a weight of 3-6 tons.There are 4 toes in the front foot and 3 toes in the back foot. There are 21 pairs of ribs in total, and the back is flat.[1]
Ivory:Both male and female have long and curved ivory, but the female is much smaller.The highest record for male teeth was 102.7 kg.The sex is more ferocious, especially the lonely male elephant, which is more ferocious and difficult to tame.The elephant skin is thick and less hairy. The nose and upper lip form a long cylindrical nose. The two upper incisors are large and long, which is called "ivory". In general, there are three front molars and three rear molars on each side of the mouth. Eating high fiber foods, leaves, grass, etc., molars do not grow at the same time. The existing molars wear out, and then new molars grow out, so if the last one (the sixth one)After the molars wear out after about 60 years old, the old elephant may die of malnutrition. If it continues to feed ground food, it may continue to live.[1]
The tooth form of the African steppe elephant is i 1/0c 0/0、p 3/3、m 3/3。At birth, the baby elephant has no ivory, but temporary maxillary incisors.These incisors were replaced with the incisors that eventually formed ivory when they were about one year old.The adult African elephant has a dentition, with six molars growing and moving forward, just like on a conveyor belt.These teeth are worn, lost, and replaced throughout their lives.[1]
Ears:The elephant's ears are large, sharp at the bottom, and can be up to 1.5 meters long. There are abundant blood vessels for heat dissipation and keeping the body cool.The tail is not long, and there is a brush on the top.The ears are very big. The front foot has five hooves and the rear foot has three hooves. There are 21 pairs of ribs and up to 26 tailbones.The forehead of the African steppe elephant is protruding, the back is more inclined, the shoulder is the highest point, and the nose has two finger processes.[1]
Elephant trunk:The temperature of the African continent is very high. Elephants have an innate affinity for water. They like to inhale water into their trunks and spray it all over their bodies.After that, they often spray a layer of protective soil on the skin.The long trunk of an elephant can not only be used to smell, breathe, blow a horn, drink water, but also be used to catch things, especially good food.Elephant trunk has about 100000 muscles.The African grassland elephant has two finger like projections at the end of its long nose, which is very sensitive and dexterous and can be used to catch small things.[1]
Coat color:Elephants are prone to skin diseases due to their lack of hair, so they need to bathe or take mud baths frequently. The elephant skin is thick and has wrinkles. Some wrinkles are more than ten centimeters deep, and the skin is light gray. Because mud baths sometimes look like red brown soil, brown eyes have long eyelashes, and there is a rare albino elephant. The eyes of white elephants are generally blue.[1]
Habitat environment
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African steppe elephants live in many habitats in Africa, such as savanna, tropical rainforest, woodland, shrubbery, and occasionally desert and beach.However, due to the threat of poaching, protected areas are their main habitat.In these reserves, these elephants will live in areas with water sources and rich vegetation to feed.In these habitats, the altitude ranges from sea level to 4000 meters.[1]
Life habits
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They like to live in groups. Each group is commanded by female animals, forming groups of different sizes, usually 20-30.Most of its members are female offspring. Male animals have no place in the group. They must leave the group when they are 15 years old, and only occasionally return to the group during mating.There is a strict hierarchy in the group, and the actions should be ranked according to the position. No matter what they eat, drink, mate, or walk, they are in good order. Members of the group are usually very peaceful and friendly.Its steps are very big, and each step bends its legs as high as possible, and spans a little farther, which is very suitable for bore through the mud.[1]
The adult male ordinary African grassland elephant lives alone and is irritable. When stimulated, it will enter a "frenzy state", which means that it will attack anything and is extremely dangerous.The elephant herd is led by an older female, who chooses the migration route with water source according to experience.[1]
In order to collect food, it needs to walk 16000 kilometers a year, and the migration route often needs to pass through streams, lakes, marshes, etc., making its life like a long, patient food seeking journey.The dense forest will not make the elephants lose their way, because each group has its own voice and smell of contact, and no matter how far away they go, they can find the whereabouts of the family.It relies on a part of the forehead that can vibrate to send out sound signals. The frequency is mostly between 14-24 Hz at low frequencies. The human ear cannot hear it, but it also contains some audible harmonics.[1]
The African steppe elephant is invincible on the grassland, but mostly competes with other animals in a gentle way.Only when you are angry or afraid can you hurt other animals. At this time, even the strong rhinoceros should avoid.Although adults of African steppe elephant are not afraid of the attack threat of any animal, the cubs are unable to resist the attack of lions, hyenas, wild dogs and vultures. So when resting, the group often stands in a circle to keep alert for defense and self-defence. Even if the female feels a little danger, she will use a long nose to remind the cubs.When a group migrates in a long distance and on a large scale, the cubs must keep up closely, but the females will also protect from the left and right to repel predators at any time.Few people can find the remains of wild African grassland elephants after natural death, especially where ivory is stacked.Because after the death of an African prairie elephant, the members of the family will feel very sad. After a period of silence around the skeleton of their own kind, they will decompose the remains and take them away one by one. They will disperse the ivory and each bone in different directions and places in the dense forest.[1]
Elephants are herbivorous animals. They spend 16 hours a day collecting food. Their digestive system is inefficient. Only 40% of the food can be absorbed. An adult elephant can eat 30 to 60 kilograms of food a day, but 60% of it is excreted.Elephants normally walk 3 to 6 kilometers a day to find food, but they can also reach a speed of 26 kilometers per hour when running quickly.[1]
Reproductive mode
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How the male of the African steppe elephant judges the estrus status of the female elephant and whether she is ready to mate is accomplished through the smell of the female urine and genital area.During courtship, male elephants approach female elephants and try to touch them with their trunks.Male elephants will fight for mating, and if female elephants retreat, male elephants will chase them.When female elephants stop retreating, they will join the ranks of male elephants and touch each other with their trunks.The female elephant gives her hindquarters to the male to continue courtship.Then the male mounts the female and starts mating.The male will repeatedly insert the female for 2 minutes.When female elephants are in estrus, they may mate with several different males and are considered polygamous.They are cooperative breeders, and female elephants raise their young with the help of other members of the family or "clan".[1]
African steppe elephants are viviparous animals, which means they will give birth to young elephants.They can reproduce all year round without seasonal difference.The number of offspring per birth period is usually limited to one, but in rare cases, twins may be born.They breed every 3-9 years, and give birth to four baby elephants on average in their lifetime.The gestation period is about 22 months, but it is greatly affected by environmental factors.If environmental factors are conducive to the survival of newborn elephants, the pregnancy period may be shorter.The newborn baby elephant has a shoulder height of about 90cm, a weight of 90-120kg, and an average birth weight of 100kg.Offspring completely rely on breast milk before weaning for 4 months, but occasionally continue to drink breast milk for up to 3 years.The young African elephant will be completely independent at the age of 8.The maturity period of African steppe elephant is different between male and female.The male will reach sexual maturity around 20 years old, while the female will reach sexual maturity around 11 years old.The life span of wild common African steppe elephant is 65-70 years old, and the life span of captive elephant can be more than 80 years old.[1]
Distribution range
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Origin: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, NigerNigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
In 2022, many countries proposed to change the African grassland elephant from Annex II to Annex I of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.[6]
Population status
The sharp decline in the number of African steppe elephants is mainly caused by two factors.First, the rapid growth of African population and the development and destruction of forests and grasslands have reduced the territory of wildlife and worsened the environment.As a result, the natural mortality rate of elephants soared.Second, indiscriminate killing.In the past, Africans hunted elephants mainly for their meat and skins.However, after the 1970s, ivory became the main prey for people to kill elephants.This is not only because of the rapid increase in demand for ivory in the international handicraft market, but also because of the turbulence in the international financial market. Like gold and diamonds, ivory is regarded as a hard currency with stable value, and some big western banks compete to buy and store it.In the early 1980s, the turnover of ivory on the international market was about 1.3 million kilograms every year, more than 90 percent of which came from Africa.At the same time, the price of ivory keeps rising.From the 1970s to the 1980s, the wholesale price increased from $13 per kilogram to $156, a 12 fold increase.Get an ivory, you can get a considerable income.Therefore, some people regard elephants as "active gold boxes", ivory as "coveted platinum", and poaching ivory as "a shortcut to wealth".They are always willing to risk their lives and do everything possible to kill elephants.
Since the 1970s, elephants have been listed as "endangered animals" by the World Wildlife Conservation Organization.Many African countries have issued laws prohibiting elephant hunting and cracked down on groups that poach elephants and smuggle ivory.The management of wildlife parks and reserves where elephants live has also been strengthened, and armed patrols have been carried out.At the same time, with the assistance of some international wildlife conservation organizations, many African countries have launched a large-scale "Save the Elephant Campaign" to publicize the significance and measures of elephant protection through donations, exhibitions, lectures, movies and other forms.In October 1989, the General Conference of the Treaty Organization on International Trade in Endangered Species adopted a resolution prohibiting ivory trade for ten years.These measures have played a good role in protecting elephants. After the 1990s, the number of African steppe elephants began to rise slowly.
In November 2002, the 12th CITES Conference was held in Santiago, the capital of Chile.The focus of debate at the meeting was still the ivory trade of southern African countries.After intense debate, the meeting approved the application of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana to sell 60 tons of stored ivory within three years.Other African countries have not been approved for similar applications because "the living conditions of elephants have not improved significantly".In 1989, the executive body of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species completely prohibited international trade involving elephants.Since the implementation of the ban, the price of ivory smuggling has risen rapidly, which has greatly stimulated the international illegal ivory trade and triggered a new round of hunting of African grassland elephants.According to incomplete statistics, 23000 elephants were killed in Africa in 2001 alone.Elephants have been listed as one of the ten species most threatened by trade activities in the world.In order to protect endangered elephants, Kenya and other countries have called on this conference to implement a 20-year ban on ivory trade, curb illegal ivory trade, severely punish poaching and prevent the extinction of elephants.Because ivory can make precious handicrafts, elephants are often attacked by poachers. As large animals, its reproductive cycle is long, so it is very easy to become extinct.Countries have banned ivory trade to protect elephants.Chinese laws have also stipulated that ivory trade and continued production of ivory products are prohibited.
