Three species of elephants are known to exist today – the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. There are also three subspecies of Asian statues – Sumatran, Sri Lankan and Indian.
Where elephants are found depends on which species they belong to, African and Asian elephants never touch each other. African bush elephants live in the forests, grasslands and wetlands of central and southern Africa, while African forest elephants prefer the tropical rainforests of central and western Africa. At the same time, Asiatic species generally live in the grasslands and deciduous forests of Asia. The Indian subspecies is distributed in the Asian continent, the Sri Lankan elephant is native to Sri Lanka, and the Sumatran elephant is native to Sumatra.
Differences Between Elephant Species
There are only minor differences between African forest elephants and African bush elephants, the most notable difference being their tusks. The tusks of the African forest elephant are straighter and point downwards, while the tusks of the African bush elephant are curved outward. Additionally, African bush elephants are generally larger than African forest elephants.
However, there are significant differences between the general African elephant and the Asian elephant. One of the most obvious differences between the two is the “fingers” on the trunk. African statues have two “fingers”, while Asian statues have only one. There are also marked differences between their ears – Asian elephants have much smaller ears than African elephants. Elephants use their ears to dissipate heat because they have many blood vessels on the surface of their skin that help them cool down. Since African elephants live in a hotter climate than Asian elephants, they need larger ears to help them cool down. Surprisingly, their ears turned out to be in the shape of the African continent.
Also, African elephants are taller and heavier than Asian elephants. The highest point of the African elephant is the shoulders, while the highest point of the Asian elephant is the top of the head. Asian elephants have a different head shape than African elephants, being “double-domed” rather than broad and flat. The African bush appears to be the largest species, weighing around 13,000 pounds and standing 13 feet at the shoulder. Asian elephants are smaller, only males, weighing 8,800 pounds and measuring about 9 feet in length. There are also differences between tusks, as only male Asian elephants have tusks. However, both male and female africas can grow tusks.
world’s oldest elephant
The oldest living elephant in the world is an Asian elephant named Changalloor Dakshayani who died at the age of 89. Chengalloor Dakshayani was a woman who was born in 1930 and died in 5day February 2019. She has lived at Thiruvarattu Kavu Temple since she was 19 years old. Beginning in the late 1960’s she moved to the Chenkalloor Mahadeva Temple in India where she was used in temple ceremonies and processions.
Before Chengalloor Dakshayani, the record was held by another Asian elephant – Wang Lin – who died aged 86. Lin Wang, along with several other large statues, has been used by the Chinese Expeditionary Force to deliver supplies and pull cannons over the years. During this period, he participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and later participated in the Second World War. After the war, he continued to serve in the army until he was the only remaining elephant from the original group of elephants that served during the war. In 1952, the army sent him to the Taipei Zoo, where he lived for the rest of his life.
The 12 Oldest Elephants Ever Lived
Here’s a list of the 11 oldest elephants ever recorded, including the oldest African bush elephant, the oldest surviving bull statue in North America, and more:
- casey (52): Oldest African bush elephant ever lived in captivity. Kathy lived at the Kansas City Zoo from 1951 until 2003.
- Sophie (age 52): November 2020 One of the oldest captive African elephants in North America.
- Dari (55): An African elephant who lived to be 55 at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. Dari passed away in 2015.
- Dali (55 years old): The oldest surviving male elephant in North America. As of 2021, Dalip can still be found at Zoo Miami.
- Teranza (56): was an African elephant at the Memphis Zoo who died in 2020. At the time of Tyranza’s death, she was the oldest African elephant in North America.
- Mary (age 57): Mary, who currently resides at the San Diego Zoo in California, just celebrated her 57th birthday on January 3, 2021.
- Saigon (62): One of the last surviving circus elephants in Australia. Saigon can be found at Sydney Zoo in Australia.
- Shirley (72): Shirley, who was arrested in Sumatra in 1948, worked in circuses for several years before retiring to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee in 1999. When she died in 2021, Shirley was 72 years old and the second oldest elephant in North America.
- Ambika (72 years old): An elephant gifted to the United States by India, which lives at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Ambika passed away in March 2020.
- Lani (83 years old): Rani was born in 1938 and lived at a zoo in Hyderabad, India until his death in June 2021. She was the third oldest elephant after her death.
- Wang Lin (86 years old): An elephant that lived from 1917 to 2003. Wang Lin served in World War II and spent the rest of his life at the Taipei Zoo.
- Changalloor Kakshayani (89): The oldest captive elephants ever lived, from 1930 to 2019.
Do elephants live longer than other mammals?
Despite being able to live to impressive animal ages, elephants aren’t actually the only long-lived mammals. We humans are among the longest-lived land mammals, with the longest recorded age at 124 years.
The longest-lived mammal, however, is the bowhead whale, which lives more than 200 years. Incredibly, this has actually been confirmed, as stone harpoon points have been recovered from the death of several bowhead whales. The scientists were then able to date the harpoon tip, allowing for an accurate estimate of the whale’s age.
elephant behavior
Most elephants live in groups, led by the oldest and largest matriarch. The matriarch is respected by all herds and is someone others see as the decision maker. Females give birth approximately every four years, and gestation lasts 22 months, the longest of any mammal. The baby elephants are called calves and are cared for by the other females in the herd and their mothers.
Males and females live separately, as young males leave the herd around age 15 and join “single herds” with other young males. Once they reach full maturity, they usually break off and become solitary. Males don’t mate with females until they are about 20 years old, when they are strong enough to compete with other males.
Apart from being majestic, elephants are also very intelligent. They can remember places and people for years and are able to express a wide range of emotions – including joy, anger, sadness and compassion. When a herd of elephants encounters the remains of a deceased elephant, they typically touch the body with their trunks. They also cover the bodies with leaves and branches for burial. If the dead were one of their own herd, they would often be with them for days or even weeks, vigil while mourning.
The elephant also likes to roll in the mud and spray water on its back with its nose. However, they do this for a big reason, as it helps remove parasites and insects from the skin. Once the mud dries on their skin, they rub themselves against the hard surface, which then removes the parasite.
Ecosystem and Conservation
Unfortunately, elephants are under serious threat. The African bush elephant and Asian elephant are listed as endangered, while the African forest elephant is critically endangered. In fact, it is estimated that elephants may even be extinct within two decades unless something changes.
Their natural predators are lions, hyenas and crocodiles, although they usually only prey on young, sick or injured animals. However, the biggest threat to elephants is humans, especially poaching. Elephants are hunted for their tusks and even in some areas for their meat. Habitat loss is another serious threat to elephants such as logging. Efforts are being made to protect elephants, including maintaining the “Elephant Corridor”. This is a narrow strip connecting two larger habitats for elephants to walk without human contact.
However, elephants actually play an extremely important role in maintaining the ecosystem and protecting other animals. They help shape habitat, and during the dry season, they use their tusks to tear open dry river beds to help create new watering holes. Also, in scrubland, they uproot trees to clear plains for animals such as zebra, antelope and wildebeest. In forests, elephants use their size to make paths for smaller animals through the undergrowth. This makes them essential to many habitats and the survival of many other species.
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.