Today we are going to talk about Types of elephants. There were at one time an estimated 350 species of elephants in the world. But currently time is only two species of elephants remaining, including Asian and African species. Both are at risk of extinction unless more vigorous efforts are made to save this species of elephant. Illegal hunting of elephants for the teeth of these animals as well as the destruction of their natural habitats is taking place on them at an alarming rate. So let us gather some more information about Types of elephants.
This elephant is known as Elephas maximus. Elephants of this type are known to be the only living species of the genus Elephas. The Asian Elephant's population has shrunk by 50 percent in recent times. The Asian Elephant threatened primarily with habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation, and loss of prey.
This type of elephant lives for more than 60 to 70 years. The height of the Asian Elephant on the shoulder is about 2.4 m to 2.75 m. The total weight of the Asian Elephant is approximately 3 to 4.4 short tons.
Elephants of this type are found to be larger than African elephants. The highest point of these elephants is located on the head. Unlike African elephants, the Asian Elephant's head has two domes indented in the middle. This type of elephant is convex or posterior.
The ears of the Asian Elephant are less than those of their African counterparts because they live in cold habitats. The female species of Asian Elephant has a shortage of tusks and can tolerate not males. More nail-like formations are present on the legs of Asian Elephants compared to African elephants.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Species : E. maximus
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : Elephas
2. African Elephant
This elephant is also known as Loxodonta. Elephants of this type are the largest terrestrial animals on earth. African Elephant is famous for its large size and intelligent behavior. Elephants of this type have a genus that includes two species of live elephants and includes the African shrub elephant and the small African forest elephant.
African Elephants are vegetarians. African Elephants live in groups. The skin of the African Elephant is gray and differs in the size of the ears and tusks of this type of elephant and in the shape and size of their skulls.
African Elephants can use its muscular structure to lift about 3% of their own body weight. African Elephants use it to smell, touch, feed, smoke, drink, make noise, load, defend and attack. The height of the African Elephant is 2.2 to 3.4 m.
The total weight of the African Elephant is approximately 6000 kg. This type of elephant is distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, where the African Elephant inhabits the Sahelian scrubland and arid regions, as well as tropical rainforests, mopane and miombo woodlands.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Species : L. africana
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : Loxodonta
3. Borneo Elephant
This elephant is also known as Borneo pygmy elephant. The Borneo elephant is known as a subspecies of the Asian elephant. This type of elephant is found in the northern and northeastern parts of the island of Borneo in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The origin of the Borneo elephant is a matter of debate and it is claimed that the Borneo elephant may have evolved from the captive elephants introduced to Borneo by the Sultan of Sulu.
This type of elephant has been endangered in the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the Borneo elephant population has declined by at least 50% in the last three generations. The Borneo elephant is smaller than the African elephant and has the highest part of the body on the head.
The back of a Borneo elephant is convex or level. The height of the Borneo elephant is 8.2 ft to 9.8 ft. This type of elephant weighs 3000 to 6000 kilograms.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Subspecies : E. m. borneensis
Species : E. maximus
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : Elephas
4. Forest Elephant
This elephant is also known as Loxodonta cyclotis. The Forest Elephant is known as a species of two living African elephants. Forest Elephant is native to the wetlands of West Africa and the Congo Basin. These types of elephants are darker and smaller than their savanna mates.
Forest Elephant erupts when it is 1–3 years old. Forest Elephant is found living in family groups of 20 individuals. Forest Elephants graze on seeds, leaves, fruits and tree bark and that is why this elephant is called 'mega gardener of the forest'.
Forest Elephant's ears are also more rounded and smaller in size. The Forest Elephant is tusk stronger and straighter than the savannah species. Forest Elephants have a slower birth rate and take longer to hunt better than tree elephants.
The skin of this elephant is gray and looks yellow. The bulls of Forest Elephant reach a shoulder height of 2.4–3.0 m. Forest Elephant weighs 2–4 tonnes. The population of Forest Elephant declined in 2013 due to an estimated 30,000 victims.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Species : L. cyclotis
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : Loxodonta
5. Indian Elephant
This elephant is known as Elephas maximus indicus. This type of elephant is considered to be one of the three subspecies of Asian elephant. Hunting, loss of habitat, deforestation, deforestation, persecution by humans and road and rail accidents endanger the live life of the Indian elephant.
This type of elephant is smaller than African elephants. The Indian elephant has the highest body part on its head and has a finger-like process at the top of its trunk. The back of the Indian elephant is convex.
Indian elephant shoulder height reaches 2 to 3.5 meters. Indian elephants weigh 4,000 to 5,000 kg. The Indian elephant has 19 pairs of ribs. The skin of this type of elephant is lighter than that of the Sri Lankan elephant but darker than that of the Sumatra subspecies.
The female species of Indian elephant is shorter than the male and lacks a tusk completely or is a short tusk. The Indian elephant is found living in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Laos, China, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Subspecies : E. m. indicus
Species : E. maximus
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : Elephas
6. Palaeoloxodon Naumanni
This elephant is also known as Naumann's elephant. This type of elephant is an endangered species that was native to the Japanese archipelago during the Middle Late Pleistocene about 430,000 to 24,000 years ago. The Palaeoloxodon naumanni elephants are named after Heinrich Edmund Naumann, who discovered the first fossils at Yokosuka and Kanagawa, Japan. Elephants of this type are more closely related to African elephants than Asian elephants and mammoths, like other species of elephants.
Palaeoloxodon naumanni elephants have a skinny fat layer and long fur adapted to a cold environment. This species of elephant had a pair of long twisted tusks and a bead on its head. This type of elephant was hunted by the inhabitants of that time. This range of animals extends to the Japanese archipelago, as far as Hokkaido. The Palaeoloxodon naumanni elephants weighed an estimated 1100 kilograms.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Species : †P. naumanni
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : †Palaeoloxodon
7. Savanna Elephant
The scientific name of this elephant is Loxodonta africana. This type of elephant is also called Bush elephant. The Savannah Elephant is considered to be the larger of the two species of elephants found in Africa. Savannah Elephant has a lifespan of 60 to 70 years. The Savannah Elephant is known to be the heaviest and largest terrestrial animal. The Savannah Elephant can weigh an estimated 10.4 tons. Savannah Elephant has a shoulder height of up to 13 feet.
One of their most distinctive features is the Savannah Elephant's use of its extremely large ears to dissipate excessive heat. The Savannah Elephant has longer trunks than other species of elephants and larger tusks in both species.
Elephants of this type are distributed in 37 African countries. And Savannah Elephant inhabits forests, meadows and woodlands, wetlands and agricultural lands. Savannah Elephant is an herbivorous animal. Savannah Elephant eats grass, herbaceous plants, herbs, leaves and bark.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Species : L. africana
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : Loxodonta
8. Sri Lankan Elephant
This elephant is also known as Elephas maximus. This type of elephant is native to Sri Lanka. This type of elephant is known as one of the three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant. The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest of the Asian elephant subspecies.
The Sri Lankan elephant population has declined sharply in the last century and the range of this type of elephant is also very restricted due to the high level of deforestation. The Sri Lankan elephant has been threatened mainly with habitat loss and half-fall and fragmentation.
The vertical height of Sri Lankan elephants is 2 to 3.5 m. The total weight of Sri Lankan elephants is between 2,000 and 5,000 kilograms. This elephant has 19 pairs of ribs. These elephants are darker than the other two subspecies.
The patches of despair on the skin of Sri Lankan elephants are more obvious than others. Only 7% of the male species of Sri Lankan elephant have a tusk. The population of this type of elephant is now largely confined to the arid zones in the north, east and southeast of Sri Lanka. The lifespan of Sri Lankan elephants is 60 to 75 years.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Subspecies : E. m. maximus
Species : E. maximus
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : Elephas
9. Sumatran Elephant
This elephant is also known as Elephas maximus sumatranus yatikar. The Sumatran elephant is a native of the island of Sumatra. Sumatran elephant is a subspecies of Asian elephant. In 2011, the IUCN put the conservation status of this elephant on its list, putting it at serious risk as the Sumatran elephant population has declined by at least 80% over the past three generations. In the last 25 years, 69% of the potential habitat of the Sumatran elephant has been lost.
The Sumatran elephant rises to a height of 2 to 3.2 meters. The Sumatran elephant weighs 2,000 to 4,000 kg. The Sumatran elephant has 20 pairs of ribs. The Sumatran elephant differs from the other two Asian elephant subspecies in having a lighter skin color.
This animal threatens their survival due to loss of habitat and deforestation as well as prey. The maximum lifespan of a Sumatran elephant is about 60 years. The female species of this elephant has lived for 75 years.
Kingdom : Animalia
Family : Elephantidae
Subspecies : E. m. sumatranus
Species : E. maximus
Order : Proboscidea
Genus : Elephas
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