Why Are African Elephants Vulnerable To Extinction?
African Elephant is Vulnerable to Extinction
At six tons, the African elephant is the largest land animal. It is larger than the Asian elephant and has bigger ears than those elephants. African elephants are vulnerable to extinction because of human devolpment, poaching, and conflict with people.
African elephants roam south of the Sahara Desert. They have large trunks that are used for gathering food, communicating and drinking water. Additionally, the trunks allow elephants to shower themselves with water because they use their trunks to suck in the water. Their large ears are designed to keep them cool. About 100,000 different muscles are in an elephant’s trunk. Males and females have tusks, but the female’s are smaller. The African elephant …show more content…
An adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds 136 kilograms of food in a single day. These hungry animals do not sleep much, and they roam over great distances while foraging for the large quantities of food that they require to sustain their massive bodies with their young, but adult males (bulls) tend to roam on their own. Elephants have a longer gestation period than all other animals. It is almost 22 months. Cows usually give birth to one calf every two to four years. At birth, elephants already weigh some 200 pounds (91 kilograms) and stand about 3 feet (1 meter) tall.
African elephants, unlike their Asian relatives, are not easily domesticated. They range throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the rain forests of central and West Africa. The continent’s northernmost elephants are found in Mali’s Sahel desert. The small, nomadic herd of Mali elephants migrates in a circular route through the desert in search of water. Despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephant are still being poached in large numbers.Their ivory tusks are most sought after, but their meat and skin are also traded. Tens of thousands of elephant are killed every year for their tusks. The ivory is often carved into ornaments and jewellery china is the biggest consumer market for such products. But there has been an upsurge in poaching in recent years which has led to steep declines in forest elephant numbers …show more content…
Elephants are fond of water and enjoy showering by sucking water into their trunks and spraying it all over themselves. 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—especially 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. (Asian elephants have one.)
Both male and female African elephants have tusks they use to dig for food and water and strip bark from trees. Males use the tusks to battle one another, but the ivory has also attracted violence of a far more dangerous sort.
Because ivory is so valuable to some humans, many elephants have been killed for their tusks. This trade is illegal today, but it has not been completely eliminated, and some African elephant populations remain endangered. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-elephant "African Elephant." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 10 May
At six tons, the African elephant is the largest land animal. It is larger than the Asian elephant and has bigger ears than those elephants. African elephants are vulnerable to extinction because of human devolpment, poaching, and conflict with people.
African elephants roam south of the Sahara Desert. They have large trunks that are used for gathering food, communicating and drinking water. Additionally, the trunks allow elephants to shower themselves with water because they use their trunks to suck in the water. Their large ears are designed to keep them cool. About 100,000 different muscles are in an elephant’s trunk. Males and females have tusks, but the female’s are smaller. The African elephant …show more content…
An adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds 136 kilograms of food in a single day. These hungry animals do not sleep much, and they roam over great distances while foraging for the large quantities of food that they require to sustain their massive bodies with their young, but adult males (bulls) tend to roam on their own. Elephants have a longer gestation period than all other animals. It is almost 22 months. Cows usually give birth to one calf every two to four years. At birth, elephants already weigh some 200 pounds (91 kilograms) and stand about 3 feet (1 meter) tall.
African elephants, unlike their Asian relatives, are not easily domesticated. They range throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the rain forests of central and West Africa. The continent’s northernmost elephants are found in Mali’s Sahel desert. The small, nomadic herd of Mali elephants migrates in a circular route through the desert in search of water. Despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephant are still being poached in large numbers.Their ivory tusks are most sought after, but their meat and skin are also traded. Tens of thousands of elephant are killed every year for their tusks. The ivory is often carved into ornaments and jewellery china is the biggest consumer market for such products. But there has been an upsurge in poaching in recent years which has led to steep declines in forest elephant numbers …show more content…
Elephants are fond of water and enjoy showering by sucking water into their trunks and spraying it all over themselves. 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—especially 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. (Asian elephants have one.)
Both male and female African elephants have tusks they use to dig for food and water and strip bark from trees. Males use the tusks to battle one another, but the ivory has also attracted violence of a far more dangerous sort.
Because ivory is so valuable to some humans, many elephants have been killed for their tusks. This trade is illegal today, but it has not been completely eliminated, and some African elephant populations remain endangered. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-elephant "African Elephant." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 10 May