African elephant, Loxodonta africana, are the largest extant land animal, and consume huge quantities of vegetation, approximately 1% (dry weight) of their body mass every day (Baxter 2003). They are classified as mega-herbivores, and generally considered the most principal ecosystem engineer, shaping the environment and driving shifts in vegetation (Augustine and Mcnaughton 2004, Kerley and Landman 2006). Elephants can have a profound impact on woody vegetation through consumption, pushing over
Have you ever visited a zoo when you were a child? Did you see any large land mammals called elephants? I believe most of you already know the physical appearance of a creature called elephant. However, do you know that elephants are classified into two different types, which are the African and the Asian types? Although the African and the Asian elephants come from the same family taxonomy, each of them shares some differences, such as, the physical characteristics, the living conditions, and the
African Elephant The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean (mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical location and range of the African
about the word safari? Most people tend to think about elephants or giraffes. In this paper I will tell you many important facts about elephants: how they live, their appearance, and many other interesting facts about them. There are two different kinds of elephants; the African elephant and the Asian elephant (also known as the Indian elephant). The African elephant is the larger of the two. Measuring from the shoulder, African elephants are on average 10.8 feet (females 8.9 feet), and the average
African Elephant The African Bush Elephant, Loxodonta has adapted to suit its harsh environment. They can be found in most of Zimbabwe and Botswana. The rainfall in Botswana mainly occurs in December, January and February which is the wet season. There is 600mm of rain in the north-east of Botswana and 200mm in the drier south-west. (Siyabona Africa, 2014, stated) Adaptations: Limbs Skeleton An elephant has a large skull to use as a weapon when competing with other elephants over territory
Ivory Ban-The Rise Of The Elephant Massacre As humans, we use our hands to hold and move objects, our arms to balance and protect our body. We also have the ability to smile and attract opposite sex which allows for us to populate the world. Elephants on the other hand, utilize their ivory in much of the same ways. They hold and move large logs and pieces of bark, they protect themselves and others from predators, and they attract the interest of female elephants with their massive ivory. Unfortunately
I. HABITAT FACTS African Elephants are herbivores, which means that they eat plants in order to survive. African Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, bark, broadleaved trees, shrubs, palms, vines, leaves, shoots, twigs, branches, and flowers in order to survive and can consume up to 300 pounds of food per day. An unusual feeding habit the African Elephant has is that they spend more time looking for food then sleeping, spending up to twenty hours searching. They are almost constantly searching
African Wild life elephants will become extinct in the next 10 to 15 years because of poachers. Poachers have consistently been killing African elephants for their tusks. This by far the must inhumane act of all. Poachers are people that voluntarily kill for money. That money can feed hundreds of children in third world countries, it can save lives. Instead, people are buying these high end sculptures made of ivory as an adorned decorative piece for their home. Ivory is made from the trucks of elephants
The Elephant is something to marvel at there is no animal quite like them. Between its shear size (the largest terrestrial mammal alive today), the familiar emotions they share with humans such as mourning for their dead, or their unique features like their large trunks, tusks, and ears, there is nothing that compares. These are some reasons why this large beautiful animal should not be taken for granted in today’s society. Unfortunately they have been between the illegal poaching for ivory, human
Effect on African Wildlife Poaching is a worldwide catastrophe that not only affects the animals that are being poached but also the environment and the people around them. Poaching is the illegal act of over-exploitation of animals and the illegal trading and selling of them whether it be for killing them for certain parts or just the whole body in general. Africa is a continent in which its animals and people that have been strongly affected by poaching and it is now starting to change African economy
Elephants are dated to be around this earth for about six million years ago. Mammoth remains have been found in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America, today most of elephants around earth are mostly found only around Africa. Mammoths are also believed to have originally evolved in North Africa about 4.8 million years ago, where bones of them have been found in Chad, Libya, and Morocco. I believe that throughout time the mammoth has evolved to not become extinct. In spite the fact that the mammoth
attractive. The Asian ivory came from tusks of elephants that were largely different from African elephants. For starters, they had a smaller build and differently shaped tusks. The African elephants had an average tusk size of about sixty pounds to the Asian elephant’s forty. The African elephants lived in the tropical jungles of Africa’s east coast, while the Asian elephant lived in a far different environment. As it happened, it was the African elephant that man desired but had a difficult time
Once upon time, there was two group of friends that dislike each other. One group of friend had a African Elephant and an African Forest Elephant. Another group of friends contained a Cross River Gorilla, Chimpanzee, and a Mountain Gorilla. But there was one issue, Chimpanzee was friend with the elephants but Chimpanzee’s friends never knew they were friends. They all lived in the rainforest but some of them do not know where some of their enemies live, but they all live in the rainforest. One day
have been hunting Elephants for their ivory for 30 years. Even though ivory trade is illegal, many people need money for food and other important things. As a kid, I witnessed farm animals get tortured by the hands of human and they were killed so they can be used for food that people can eat. A decade later, the world hadn’t adjusted to preserving animals and protecting them from people who show no shame and honor to life. My position is that I am against it because elephants are very vital to ecosystems
Wapiennik Mr. Trippeer, Biology January 6th, 1997 The ban on elephant ivory trading has slowed down the poaching of elephants, but now poachers are getting their ivory from another creature, the hippopotamus. For the poacher, the hippo is an easy target. They stay together for long hours in muddy water pools, as many as eighty-one can be found in a single square mile. This concentration is so big it's only second to that of the elephant. Poachers kill the animal, then pick out the teeth and sell them
have something made out of ivory, it means that an elephant was killed so you could have it. The population of elephants in the world have defiantly decrease over the last decade. At one time in the United States it was acceptable to have figures carved out of ivory displayed in one’s homes, as well as piano’s which also had ivory keys. Even with the decline of ivory being something a tourist would want as a souvenir, poachers continue to kill elephants to harvest their ivory. In China and Asia having
their elephants and ivory. Poachers are sneaking into parks, killing masses of elephants and then crossing borders to evade park rangers and police. Then the ivory from the elephant tusks are smuggled to various destinations for sale on the black market. This is when Taxidermist George Dante was tasked with creating an artificial tusk with a tracking device to track trafficking of ivory and to potentially find terrorist hideouts. The main countries affected by the problem of elephant poaching
Analyzing the Ethics of Zoos In today’s world, zoos are a meaningful part in a large number of people’s lives. Zoos are not only a home for animals, they are also a place for people to really enjoy themselves. Everybody has been to the zoo; they have fed the fish, enjoyed a show with seals, or just admired all of the wildlife. My Grandma and I used to go to Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska every year to do just these things. Henry Doorly Zoo is a place worthy of closer analysis because in 2016
On Eating Elephants The largest land animal on Earth can stand up to 13 feet tall and weigh up to 15,400 pounds, yet it is still a vulnerable creature. Perhaps this is because it has one of the largest hearts in the world, weighing up to 46 pounds. This shows in the creature’s endangerment and its compassion. Elephant populations have decreased rapidly in recent decades, primarily to habitat loss and ivory poachers. Elephants also experience emotions such as anger, joy, and grief. Perhaps the most
As humans our population is increasing at a very rapid pace. Human interference with the natural wildlife is skyrocketing the rate of extinction for the animals that we coexist with. As more and more humans are born the more territory is required in order to live a comfortable life, but it seems that we are not aware of how our expansions throughout the world is affecting the lives of the native species. We jeopardize the lives of these animals when we recklessly flatten the surrounding land and