African Elephant Hunting

The African Elephant is the largest land mammal in the world, standing more than eleven feet to their shoulders, weighing over seven tons.

The Elephant has dark grey skin providing perfect camouflage in the dense brush of the bushveld. African Elephants moves through the bush with surprising speed for their size, and are also very quiet.

The Elephant is social animal, and usually live in small herds made up of cows, calves, and juveniles. The male bulls are usually found on their own, or in bachelor herds and only occasionally mix with herds of cows. Even tusk-less cows and cows with calves by their sides can be extremely aggressive.

Elephants eyesight is relatively poor, however their hearing is very good, and their sense of smell is exceptional, as may be expected with their large trunks. Elephants can live between 50 to 70 years, which depends on their diet - during their lifetime they will grow six sets of teeth, moving forward in their jaw as previous sets wear out. Once the sixth set wear out, the Elephant will slowly die of starvation unable to eat any more.

The Elephant can be very destructive, as they prefer grass consuming up to 500 pounds per day, and rather than adapting to their habitat, the Elephant adapts the habitat to suit his purpose.

African Elephant Hunting

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Sumatran Elephant

True Wild Life | Sumatran Elephant | The Sumatran elephant is a sub-species of Asian elephant which includes the Indian elephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the Borneo elephant. The Sumatran elephant is extremely rare today, with estimates in 2000 putting Sumatran elephant numbers at just over 2,000 individuals. As its name suggests, the Sumatran elephant is found exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. However, the Sumatran elephant population has severely declined as they have lost more than 80% of their natural habitat to deforestation for palm oil plantations.

The Sumatran elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the Sumatran elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant. Unlike the African elephants, the female Sumatran elephants very rarely have tusks, and if the female Sumatran elephant does have tusks, they are generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Sumatran elephant opens her mouth. The Sumatran elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Sumatran elephant herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its Sumatran elephant herd. This Sumatran elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the Sumatran elephant herds, as the Sumatran elephants caused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland.

Sumatran elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. Sumatran elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts and seeds. Sumatran elephants often use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food. Due to their large size, Sumatran elephants have very few predators within their natural environment. Besides human hunters, Sumatran tigers are the primary predator of the Sumatran elephant, although they tend to hunt the smaller Sumatran elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger adults.

Female Sumatran elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are 10 years old, and give birth to a single Sumatran elephant calf after a 22 month gestation period. When the Sumatran elephant calf is first born, it weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by other female Sumatran elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant Sumatran elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves staying.

Today, the Sumatran elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct due to the fact that Sumatran elephant populations have been declining at a critical rate. Sumatran elephants are thought to be suffering primarily due to habitat loss in the form of deforestation and hunting for their ivory tusks by human poachers.

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Sri Lankan Elephant

True Wild Life | Sri Lankan Elephant | The Sri Lankan elephant is a sub-species of Asian elephant which includes the Indian elephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the Borneo elephant. The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest of all the Asian elephant sub-species and is thought to be most closely related to the Indian elephant. As its name suggests, the Sri Lankan elephant is found on the Island of Sri Lanka and is thought to have arrived there from southern India. Despite once roaming the Island, the Sri Lankan elephant is now restricted to just a few designated National parks as the Sri Lankan elephants natural habitat gets turned into crop fields.

The Sri Lankan elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the Sri Lankan elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant. Unlike the African elephants, the female Sri Lankan elephants very rarely have tusks, and if the female Sri Lankan elephant does have tusks, they are generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Sri Lankan elephant opens her mouth. The Sri Lankan elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Sri Lankan elephant herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its Sri Lankan elephant herd. This Sri Lankan elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the Sri Lankan elephant herds, as the Sri Lankan elephants caused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland.

Sri Lankan elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. Sri Lankan elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts and seeds. Sri Lankan elephants often use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food. Due to their large size, Sri Lankan elephants have very few predators within their natural environment. Besides human hunters, tigers are the primary predator of the Sri Lankan elephant, although they tend to hunt the smaller Sri Lankan elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger adults.

Female Sri Lankan elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are 10 years old, and give birth to a single Sri Lankan elephant calf after a 22 month gestation period. When the Sri Lankan elephant calf is first born, it weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by other female Sri Lankan elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant Sri Lankan elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves staying. Today, the Sri Lankan elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct due to the fact that Sri Lankan elephant populations have been declining at a critical rate. Sri Lankan elephants are thought to be suffering primarily due to habitat loss in the form of deforestation and hunting for their ivory tusks by human poachers.

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Indian Elephant

True Wild Life | Indian Elephant | The Indian elephant is a sub-species of Asian elephant which includes the Indian elephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the Borneo elephant. The Indian elephant is the most widely distributed of the four Asian elephant sub-species. The Indian elephant is found throughout south-east Asia including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam, and although spread out, the wild Indian elephant population is thought to be around just 20,000 individuals.

Indian elephants have been domesticated for hundreds of years for foresting and often battle. There are many places across south-east Asia where Indian elephants are kept for tourists to ride, and are often treated fairly badly. All Asian elephants are well known for their immense strength and friendliness towards humans. The Indian elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the Indian elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant. Unlike the African elephants, the female Indian elephants very rarely have tusks, and if the female Indian elephant does have tusks, they are generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Indian elephant opens her mouth.

The Indian elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Indian elephant herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its Indian elephant herd. This Indian elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the Indian elephant herds, as the Indian elephants caused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland. Indian elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. Indian elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts and seeds. Indian elephants often use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food.

Due to their large size, Indian elephants have very few predators within their natural environment. Besides human hunters, tigers are the primary predator of the Indian elephant, although they tend to hunt the smaller Indian elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger adults. Female Indian elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are 10 years old, and give birth to a single Indian elephant calf after a 22 month gestation period. When the Indian elephant calf is first born, it weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by other female Indian elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant Indian elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves staying.

Today, the Indian elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct due to the fact that Indian elephant populations have been declining at a critical rate. Indian elephants are thought to be suffering primarily due to habitat loss in the form of deforestation and hunting for their ivory tusks by human poachers.

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Elephant

True Wild Life | Elephant | There are numerous subspecies of the Asian elephant, these are the Indian Elephant, Sri Lankan Elephant, Sumatran, Borneo Elephant. African elephants are larger than Asian elephants and have two subspecies which are the African Bush Elephant and African Forest Elephant.

The elephant is the only known mammal that, despite having knee joints, cannot jump! This is thought to be primarily due to the elephants sheer size but also because of the way that the elephants legs are built, they are short and stocky to support the elephants phenomenal weight. Elephants are herbivores that spend around 22 hours eating! The elephant searches for green leaves in the tree tops but it is not uncommon for the elephant to tear down the tree to get the leaves.

One old elephant related myth is that elephants are afraid of mice. There are a number of theories from where this arose such as the size difference (elephants are one of the biggest land animals, mice are one of the smallest), the fear from the elephant that a mouse could crawl into the elephants trunk and nest, and the fact that mice have been known to crawl over elephants while they are sleeping so they can get to any left over food, are also viable possibilities. Whether or not elephants are actually scared of mice is unknown, however tests show that elephants are definitely not as comfortable with mice around as you might expect.

Elephant Foot Facts

• The foot of an elephant has five toes that are buried in the flesh of their feet, with not all the toes of an elephant having toenails.

• The foot of an elephant is formed in such a way that when elephants walk, they are effectively walking on tip toe.

• The underneath of elephants feet is made up of tough and fatty tissue that acts a shock absorber so that elephants can walk more quietly.

• The elephant uses its enormous feet in which to collect small amounts of water and to dig up roots out of the tought ground.

• The foot of an elephant is about half the width of its shoulder, so scientists are able to tell the size of the elephant by looking at the footprint.

Elephant Teeth Facts

• Elephants have 26 teeth in total which includes 24 molars in the mouth of the elephant and the elephants tusks which are actually two incisors.

• The molars in the mouth of the elephant replace themselves six times during their lives with the new molars being larger than the old ones.

• The replacing molars in the mouth of the elephant push the old molars forward to let the new molars grow at the back of the elephants mouth.

• The elephants uses its tusks for digging, ripping bark from trees and foraging, as their tusks are essentially no different from normal teeth.

• The teeth of the elephant are made from ivory, a strong compound that humans seem to have lust for but it has meant that countless elephants have been killed for their teeth alone.

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Borneo Elephant

True Wild Life | Borneo Elephant | The Borneo elephant is a sub-species of Asian elephant which includes the Indian elephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the Borneo elephant. The Borneo elephant is also known as the pygmy elephant as it is the smallest of the elephant sub-species. As its name suggests, the Borneo elephant is found exclusively on the island of Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah and parts of Indonesian Kalimantan. Much of the Borneo elephants natural habitat has been destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations and there are now thought to be less than 1,000 Borneo elephant individuals left in Sabah.

The Borneo elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the Borneo elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant. Unlike the African elephants, the female Borneo elephants very rarely have tusks, and if the female Borneo elephant does have tusks, they are generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Borneo elephant opens her mouth. The Borneo elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Borneo elephant herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its Borneo elephant herd. This Borneo elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the Borneo elephant herds, as the Borneo elephants caused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland.

Borneo elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. Borneo elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts and seeds. Borneo elephants often use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food. Due to their large size, Borneo elephants have very few predators within their natural environment. Besides human hunters, tigers are the primary predator of the Borneo elephant, although they tend to hunt the smaller Borneo elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger adults.

Female Borneo elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are 10 years old, and give birth to a single Borneo elephant calf after a 22 month gestation period. When the Borneo elephant calf is first born, it weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by other female Borneo elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant Borneo elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves staying. Today, the Borneo elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct due to the fact that Borneo elephant populations have been declining at a critical rate. Borneo elephants are thought to be suffering primarily due to habitat loss in the form of deforestation and hunting for their ivory tusks by human poachers.

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Asian Elephant

True Wild Life | Asian Elephant | Asian Elephants are much smaller than the African elephants only growing to a couple of meters tall. Asian elephants are found in the tropical jungles of India and China, and throughout most countries in south-east Asia. Asian elephants have been domesticated for hundreds of years for foresting and often battle. There are many places across Asia where Asian elephants are kept for tourists to ride, and are often treated fairly badly. Asian elephants are well known for their immense strength and friendliness towards humans.

Today, the Asian elephant is considered an endangered species with only around 50,000 left in the wild. This is due to the loss of habitat of the Asian elephant and illegal poachers hunting the Asian elephant, for their skins and ivory. The Asian elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the Asian elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant. Unlike the African elephants, the female Asian elephant very rarely have tusks, and if the female Asian elephant does have tusks, they are generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Asian elephant opens her mouth.

The Asian elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Asian elephant herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its Asian elephant herd. This Asian elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the Asian elephant herds, as the Asian elephants caused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland. Asian elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. Asian elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts and seeds. Asian elephants often use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food.

Due to their large size, Asian elephants have very few predators within their natural environment. Besides human hunters, tigers are the primary predator of the Asian elephant, although they tend to hunt the smaller Asian elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger adults. Female Asian elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are 10 years old, and give birth to a single Asian elephant calf after a 22 month gestation period. When the Asian elephant calf is first born, it weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by other female Asian elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant Asian elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves staying.

Today, the Asian elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct due to the fact that Asian elephant populations have been declining at a critical rate. Asian elephants are thought to be suffering primarily due to habitat loss in the form of deforestation and hunting for their ivory tusks by human poachers.

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African Forest Elephant

True Wild Life | African Forest Elephant | The African forest elephant is the largest known land mammal on Earth, with male African forest elephants reaching over 3.5 metres in height and the female African forest elephants around 3 metres. The African forest elephant mainly lives in central and southern Africa in nomadic herds that wander the plains and grasslands of Africa grazing for food and searching for waterholes. The African forest elephant has no natural predators to threaten its survival, mainly due to the African forest elephant's sheer size. African forest elephants can be seen co-inhabiting in the African wilderness with other large mammals and birds, relatively peacefully.

Sadly, due to an increase of outside interest in Africa and its exotic wonders, the African forest elephant population took a devastating decline towards extinction. In 1989 a worldwide elephant ivory hunting ban fell into place, meaning that the African forest elephant population has fortunately begun to recover.

The tusks of an African forest elephant can grow to nearly 2.5 meters long and generally weigh between 50 and 100 pounds, which is about the same as a small adult human. The African forest elephant uses these immense tusks for digging for roots in the ground and to strip the bark of trees. The African forest elephant also uses its tusks to defend itself from predators such as lions, and to fight with other male African forest elephants during the mating season. There are thought to be two species of the African elephant which are the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant. Although these two elephant species are very similar, the African bush elephant is considered to be bigger in size than the African forest elephant. The African forest elephant is thought to also have rounder ears and straighter tusks than the African bush elephant, and it has been also noted that the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant have a different number of toe nails.

African forest elephants have four molar teeth each weighing about 5.0 kg and measuring about 12 inches long. As the front pair of molars in the mouth of the African forest elephant wear down and drop out in pieces, the back pair shift forward and two new molars emerge in the back of the African forest elephant's mouth. African forest elephants replace their teeth six times during their lives but when the African forest elephant is about 40 to 60 years old, the African forest elephant no longer has teeth and will likely die of starvation, which is sadly a common cause of death in the African wilderness.

Females African forest elephants reach sexual maturity (are able to reproduce) after 10 or 11 years, and male African forest elephants often don't reach sexual maturity until they are nearly 20 years old. After a gestation period of up to 2 years, the female African forest elephant gives birth to a single calf (twins have been known but are extremely rare). The African forest elephant calf is nursed for 2 years and will remain with the herd until it is old enough to support itself. It is at this point that the tusks of the African forest elephant calf will be starting to grow.

Today, although recovering, African forest elephant populations are still threatened from increasing levels of illegal poaching and habitat destruction. Deforestation in the African forest elephant's territory means that the African forest elephants lose both their food and shelter making them more vulnerable in the wild. African forest elephants are also constantly threatened by poachers hunting the elephants for their ivory tusks. 

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African Bush Elephant

 

True Wild Life | African Bush Elephant  | The African bush elephant is the largest known land mammal on Earth, with male African bush elephants reaching over 3.5 metres in height and the female African bush elephants around 3 metres. The African bush elephant mainly lives in central and southern Africa in nomadic herds that wander the plains and grasslands of Africa grazing for food and searching for waterholes. The African bush elephant has no natural predators to threaten its survival, mainly due to the African bush elephant's sheer size. African bush elephants can be seen co-inhabiting in the African wilderness with other large mammals and birds, relatively peacefully.

Sadly, due to an increase of outside interest in Africa and its exotic wonders, the African bush elephant population took a devastating decline towards extinction. In 1989 a worldwide elephant ivory hunting ban fell into place, meaning that the African bush elephant population has fortunately begun to recover. The tusks of an African bush elephant can grow to nearly 2.5 meters long and generally weigh between 50 and 100 pounds, which is about the same as a small adult human. The African bush elephant uses these immense tusks for digging for roots in the ground and to strip the bark of trees. The African bush elephant also uses its tusks to defend itself from predators such as lions, and to fight with other male African bush elephants during the mating season.

There are thought to be two species of the African elephant which are the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant. Although these two elephant species are very similar, the African bush elephant is considered to be bigger in size than the African forest elephant. The African forest elephant is thought to also have rounder ears and straighter tusks than the African bush elephant, and it has been also noted that the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant have a different number of toe nails.

African bush elephants have four molar teeth each weighing about 5.0 kg and measuring about 12 inches long. As the front pair of molars in the mouth of the African bush elephant wear down and drop out in pieces, the back pair shift forward and two new molars emerge in the back of the African bush elephant's mouth. African bush elephants replace their teeth six times during their lives but when the African bush elephant is about 40 to 60 years old, the African bush elephant no longer has teeth and will likely die of starvation, which is sadly a common cause of death in the African wilderness.

Females African bush elephants reach sexual maturity (are able to reproduce) after 10 or 11 years, and male African bush elephants often don't reach sexual maturity until they are nearly 20 years old. After a gestation period of up to 2 years, the female African bush elephant gives birth to a single calf (twins have been known but are extremely rare). The African bush elephant calf is nursed for 2 years and will remain with the herd until it is old enough to support itself. It is at this point that the tusks of the African bush elephant calf will be starting to grow.

Today, although recovering, African bush elephant populations are still threatened from increasing levels of illegal poaching and habitat destruction. Deforestation in the African bush elephant's territory means that the African bush elephants lose both their food and shelter making them more vulnerable in the wild. African bush elephants are also constantly threatened by poachers hunting the elephants for their ivory tusks. 

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