Loxodonta africana
The African elephant is one of our favourite animals, and every encounter we have with them is special and memorable. There’s just something so majestic in the confident swagger of the big bulls, so tender in the loving care of the cows and so playful in the antics of the calves.
Mature bulls weigh up to 6000kg and stand as high as 4m at the shoulder, while cows measure up to 3.4m high and weigh up to 4000kg. The forest elephant of Central Africa, a different race to those occuring here in South Africa, are much smaller.
The herd is the core of elephant society, and comprises an older, experienced, dominant female or matriarch, her sisters and daughters, and their calves of varying ages. Sometimes these smaller family units join up with others to create massive congregations of 200 or more animals. Elephants are active throughout the day and night, resting in the shade only during the hottest hours of the day, usually near water. Their intelligence is legendary and the close bonds between herd members, who look after their sick and dying kin as much as they can, has always been an inspiration to humans.
Mature bulls are mostly solitary, or accompanied by younger bulls known as “askaris”, and maintain a dominance hierarchy through threat displays and fights that would sometimes lead to the death of one of the combatants. After being forced from their maternal herds at the onset of puberty, around 15 years of age, bulls will only join up with the breeding herds again temporarily to mate.
Elephants are able to inhabit any habitat that has sufficient food, water and shade – they occur from the Namib Desert to Africa’s equatorial forests. They are big ecological drivers and a crucial component of the ecosystems in which they occur, having an immense impact on their environment. Their seemingly destructive feeding habits serves to prevent bush encroachment and provides niche habitats for a wide variety of smaller fauna. Consuming up to 300kg of plant material per day, the copious amounts of dung (about 100kg of dung per animal per day!) they produce provide an important source of food for a myriad of small animals, birds and insects. Elephants are not particularly fussy about what they eat and include herbs, grass, reeds, leaves, seeds, pods, bark, roots and branches in their diet, but they are rather fond of mopane trees and mlala palms.
During times of drought, elephants will dig wells in apparently dry river beds, thus providing water not only for themselves but also for all other wildlife in the vicinity. An adult elephant requires between 150 and 300 liters of drinking water daily. After years of continuous use, elephant mudbaths are enlarged and transformed into pans and waterholes that hold water for extended periods into the dry season. Several of South Africa’s passes were built along tracks used by countless generations of elephants to cross our mountains.
Elephant cows give birth to single calves (twins are extremely rare) at any time of year, after a 22-month gestation period. The calves weigh about 120kg at birth an can stand within an hour of being born. They are weaned at the age of two years, by which time they’ve become quite adept at using their trunks to feed and drink water.
South Africa’s wild places is home to several “Big Tuskers“; elephant bulls carrying exceptionally long and heavy ivory. Many of them are named, and become tourist attractions in their own right; living monuments to South Africa’s proud conservation history. The longest tusks recorded in South Africa, 3.05m and 3.17m, belonged to Shawu, a tusker from the Kruger National Park that became famous as one of the “Magnificent Seven” in the 1970’s and ’80’s. The heaviest belonged to Mandleve, who died in 1993 and was also from Kruger, with a combined weight of over 142kg.
Being one of Africa’s famed “Big 5“, elephants are a sought-after species for anyone visiting wildlife reserves where they occur. However, elephants are extremely dangerous and should be treated with the utmost respect. They can charge at speeds of between 40 and 50km/h, much faster than any human can run. Bulls in musth, a heightened state of aggressiveness fueled by elevated testosterone levels that drives their urge to mate and fight for dominance, are very irritable and will charge without much provocation. Mothers are extremely protective of their calves and you should never find yourself between a cow and her offspring. It is always best when viewing elephants to give them plenty of space and pay attention to any warning signs they may give: a head held high, ears held wide open, trunk tucked under the body, shaking the head and ears are all signs that you are too close and need to move away fast.
Adult elephants have little to fear from other animals, and lions and spotted hyenas are the only predators that realistically pose a threat to calves and juveniles. Most elephants succumb to fights, sickness, drought or old age. Old elephants spend most of their time feeding on green, soft vegetation along watercourses, due to them having worn our their last set of molars at about the age of 55 years, finding it increasingly difficult to feed on harder plant material. They then eventually die in these areas, possibly giving rise to the myth of an elephant graveyard.
Trio of pied kingfishers sharing an elephant bone
The Kruger National Park protects South Africa’s biggest elephant population, and they are also a familiar sight in the Addo Elephant National Park, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Mapungubwe National Park, Pilanesberg National Park and Tembe Elephant Park. Smaller populations have also been established on several other state and private reserves. The tiny population in the Knysna Forests in the Garden Route National Park has fascinated South Africans for decades, with lots of speculation and theories about just how many continue to roam there.
Today, elephants in Africa and Asia are faced with the threats of escalating poaching, habitat loss and various other conflicts with humans. With an estimated 100 African elephants killed daily for the illegal ivory trade in Asian markets, their population is in rapid decline. World Elephant Day was launched on August 12th, 2012, to bring attention to the plight of these iconic animals, and has been observed annually since.
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Exquisite!
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Thanks very much! They certainly are very special animals.
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Weer eens ‘n les van die beste!! Dankie. EEn feit wat ek nooit van gehoor het ne is die een van waar passe gebou was. Dit maak sin en laat mens dink aan hoe slim daai groot grys jasse rerig is!! 🙂
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Ek is bly ons kon jou ook iets nuuts wysmaak, dankie AJ!
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I have always loved Elephants I think it’s the kindness in their eyes and their size that draws me to them. You have some beautiful pictures and you did a wonderful job capturing these beautiful creatures.
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Thanks a lot Sonya! They certainly are very charismatic animals, and even we can’t get enough of them.
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I would not be able to get enough of them either they are my favorite wild animal.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again — MAGNIFICENT CREATURES! 🙂
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We agree entirely Linda!
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I’m not entirely convinced that the elephant graveyard thing is a myth – they have shown themselves to be aware of mortality and death.
Dangerous they certainly are. I remember one in Gorongosa taking a dislike to our car and going into full charge. Have you ever heard how badly an engine whines when doing over 30KPH in reverse? I just hoped it wouldn’t seize up from over-revving before the elephant ran out of breath.
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Few things on earth as terrifying as an elephant charge! And sometimes they seem to quite enjoy a bit of mischievous toying with the vehicles passing through their home ranges…
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Mischief isn’t that bad, but this guy was really cross about something!
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And that’s a pretty scary situation to be in!
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Thank you so much for this special post! Such an awesome, intelligent creature.
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Awesome and intelligent they certainly are, thanks Amy!
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When I saw it was National Elephant Day, I instantly thought of you. Marvelous post and amazing photos.
janet
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Thank you so very much Janet!
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What a thorough write-up. You clearly care a lot for these amazing animals. I hope I’ll get a chance to see them in the wild one day.
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Thank you Annette! Indeed, we can’t imagine South Africa’s wild places without elephants. We’ll hold thumbs with you that you’ll get a chance to experience Africa’s elephants in their natural habitat, it is an experience you’ll never forget.
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Wow! You have some amazing shots here. I love the one of the close up of the eye.
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Thank you Kathy! They’re one of our favourite animals, so the cameras go mad when we encounter them out in the wild 😉
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I learned a lot about elephants from reading your post. Thank you!
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Thank you for the kind contribution, Hien!
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So pragtig uiteengesit,Dries!
As mens hier lees,waardeer mens die olifante sommer baie meer.Hulle is darem wonderlike diere.
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Baie dankie Dina! Olifante’s beslis van ons gunsteling diere, en amper elke ontmoeting met hulle is iets om te onthou!
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great photos – of surely great moments!!!!
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Thank you Matthias! Absolutely, some elephant encounters remain etched in our memories for years!
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Fantastic post. Baie goed bymekaar gesit…so baie ontmoetings met hulle.
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Baie dankie Boeta! Ons geniet dit vreeslik om olifante te besigtig. Julle seker ook, met die dat Addo so naby is?
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Jip.
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ongelooflike groot diere! Pragtige foto’s!
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Groot en mooi, ne Aletta!?
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ja, pragtig!!
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Such amazing animals. Thanks for the interesting facts and wonderful photos.
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Thank you for your visit and very kind contribution to our blog, Mama Cormier!
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Great info and photos! Thanks.
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Thanks very much Steve!
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First picture is amazing! The elephant looked like it was popping out (probably more ‘charging’) of the picture!
And the baby elephant’s threat display was just too cute. Do they (baby ones)really make squeaky noises like how they’re portrayed in movies?
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Thanks Maida! The bull in the featured image had us reversing for quite a few kilometers, laying claim to the road 😉
The babies are surprisingly very vocal, and make a range of “screaming” high-pitched noises – practicing their trumpeting I suppose 😉
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Oh so it’s you who nearly jumped out! Out your skins!
Maybe the babies get excited seeing other creatures (meaning us humans).
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That’s quite possible Maida – elephants are very intelligent and shows considerable interest in the world around them!
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Beautiful creatures; beautiful post.
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They are spectacular Lois, thank you!
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Just wonderful. I am contemplating a post for Elephant Day as well, but I know I have very few photos–i just love the gentle giants. Thanks for this great collage of photos and all the info.
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Thank you very much Patti – I’ll keep a lookout for your Elephant Day post!
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Thank you for a great lesson and the wonderful pictures.
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Thank you for spending some of your time with us guys!
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Lovely pics and good info. Interesting about the elephant ‘graveyard’ – I’d heard of them but never knew there was a particular reason for it.
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Thank you Maamej, glad to know we could share something new with you!
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Amazing photos!! Such HUGE creatures. 🙂
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Thanks Sylvia! They are simply magnificent, aren’t they?
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