Elephants have captured the hearts of many of us because of their gentle nature. Today, there are two different kinds of elephants—the African elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephants consist of two distinct species of elephant: the African bush elephant (L. africana) and the smaller African forest elephant (L. cyclotis). Both types of elephants are highly social and intelligent, which makes them extremely interesting to study. For example, did you know that elephants comfort each other by yelling and stroking when they are in pain? To understand them better, let’s take a look at what African elephants eat and their feeding habits.
What do African elephants eat?
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The diet of African elephants consists of grasses, leaves, bark, fruits and various leaves. They are classified as herbivores. Although they eat a variety of plants, their favorite is tree bark. This is because the bark has a lot of nutritional value to them. It is rich in calcium and is an excellent source of dietary fiber, as this helps them digest. African elephants use their tusks to cut into tree trunks and then pull off the bark to eat.
Africans were also found to be like seasonal eaters, so they tend to change their diet according to the seasons. A study published in 2017 investigating the feeding patterns of African elephants found that the elephants consume large amounts of grass during the summer. In winter, when these food types become scarce, elephants eat the leaves and twigs of woody plants as they fall, and then eat the bark and roots as they fall off. This gives us a better understanding of the fascinating eating habits of African elephants!
The African bush seems to be the largest land animal. Depending on the species, African elephants can grow from 8.2 to 13 feet tall and weigh 5,000 to 14,000 pounds. Because of their large size, these animals require a lot of food to survive. African elephants are always on the move in the African savannahs and forests in search of their next meal. So you usually find them walking around.
The Complete List of What African Elephants Eat
You will never be able to see elephants eating any form of meat or biological material because they are herbivores. In other words, herbivores only eat vegetation such as plants and bark, and do not kill other animals to feed on them. The eating habits of African elephants have led them to be called food browsers. In addition to leaves and roots, they will find bark, twigs and roots on many different trees during their tour. Therefore, African elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation around them.
The following foods are part of their diet:
- bark
- the flowers
- bush
- Leaves
- shrub
- Grass
- root
- Fruits like figs and mangoes
- branch
As you can see, African elephants eat a wide variety of plants and fruits. Their diet is very diverse, allowing them to survive in their habitat. Now that we know what African elephants eat, let’s take a look at how they forage.
How do African elephants forage?
© Gary M. Stolz – Public domain of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Since Africans act like herbivores, this means they have to forage. They can spend up to 18 hours a day looking for food sources. Regarding finding food sources, as we mentioned, African elephants are considered food browsers. This means they travel long distances in search of food.
Thanks to their noses, they can find food easier and faster. An elephant’s trunk can do a lot of things that you may not know, but it’s more than just its trunk. Elephants can grab food thanks to their long, flexible trunks, which are essential when they are trying to eat. Twigs and twigs can be snapped off and brought to his mouth by wrapping the trunk around them. Thanks to his torso, he is able to reach branches that other herbivores cannot reach, furthering his already great height.
African elephants also use ivory and trunks. Ivory is vital to ensuring proper nutrition for elephants. During times of drought, he used his ivory to dig the ground in search of salt and water. Elephants can also scrape bark off trees with their tusks. This also allows them to break down the branches into smaller, more edible pieces.
Why do elephants eat so much?
As we mentioned, African elephants can forage for up to 18 hours a day. It needs to be emphasized that elephants are not small animals that survive on just a leaf or two per day. To maintain their large bodies, elephants require a similar amount of food to maintain their large size. If they don’t, it’s impossible for them to survive.
It depends on the elephant, but African elephants consume anywhere from 100 to 400 pounds of food per day. In addition, they can drink up to 40 liters of water per day. These large animals need all this food in order to maintain energy levels throughout the day. Beyond that, there are other factors to consider. As food browsers, they often travel long distances every day. Animals that travel 9-19 miles need to eat enough food in order to survive. It is important to note that natural water is limited in arid regions. Elephants living in these areas consume large amounts of water to stay hydrated and retain enough water for future travels.
What is the impact of African elephants on the environment?
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Many people are unaware that the African elephant’s diet plays an important role in environmental health. African like one of the largest land mammals on Earth, they play an important role in balancing the ecosystems of their native Africa. By foraging in dense forests and grasslands, these herbivores make room for smaller wild animals to coexist with larger ones.
When elephants dig dry riverbeds during periods of low rainfall, they also dig water holes for other animals to use during periods of low rainfall. As mentioned earlier, African elephants’ favorite foods include a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. Because they do not have a highly developed digestive system, they can only digest 40% of the food they eat. The herds disperse the seeds in their droppings as they travel across vast pastures. This greatly promotes the growth of new plants in the surrounding area.
Are African Elephants Dangerous to Humans?
Elephants are often seen as a peaceful animal. However, one should not assume that just because they are peaceful animals, they are harmless. Finally, we’re talking about animals that weigh up to 7,000 kilograms. Given their size, it is important to approach African elephants with caution. About 500 people die each year from being trampled and run over by African elephants. Elephants tend to become more aggressive in areas where poaching occurs or where the animals’ habitat is at risk because poaching threatens their survival. In the wild, you should always keep a safe distance from African elephants and exercise caution.
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.
