Forest elephant - description, habitat, lifestyle

Initially, forest elephants were classified as African. However, over time, they were studied, so they came to the conclusion that it is necessary to determine the representatives of the family in a separate variety. They studied the DNA of individuals, but then switched to their eating habits, habits and other characteristics. In this article, we will study everything related to the animals discussed in order to clarify the situation a bit.

Description

1. Unlike, for example, from savannah counterparts, these individuals are medium-sized and inferior to similar ones in size characteristics. They grow along the withers to about one and a half meters, which is very small for such animals. At the same time, African representatives grow to almost 4 meters. The weight category varies between 2.6-6 tons.
2. Refined, elongated tusks. Thanks to a similar structure, animals make their way through dense shrubbery, can easily exist in tropical forest bands. The ears are huge, rounded in format. Animals hear perfectly, they are guided by this.
3. The skin is not endowed with sweat glands in large quantities. Therefore, elephants, like other individuals from this family, use their ears to fan and control body temperature. Their jaws are long and narrowed.
4. The limbs in front have 5 fingers, while on the hind legs there are only four. By a trunk is meant a process formed by connecting the nose and upper lip. It is vital for collecting water, grabbing items and other activities. With the help of a trunk, individuals communicate, hug offspring and perceive the environment.

Features

1. The number of goals began to plummet, beginning in 1990. The thing is that poachers prey on elephants due to their valuable tusks. On the basis of ivory, jewelry, souvenirs and other paraphernalia are subsequently made.
2. Due to the fact that the presented individuals prey on farmland, they began to be shot. Elephants destroy reed, corn, sorghum. They climb onto the plantations, trample and devour everything.
3. These animals are important for the ecosystem, as they contribute to maintaining its balance. They improve the planting of vegetation. If you follow the calculations, today there are about two hundred thousand individuals.

Habitat

1. Individuals mainly live in the Central and Western parts of the African continent. Animals try to stay in the Congo basin. In this area, vegetation and in particular forests predominate.
2. Animals are often found along small rivers and swamps. As soon as tropical rains begin, elephants try to stay in the forests for a long time. When drought occurs, animals, on the contrary, tend to spend time near swamps.

Lifestyle

1. It is noteworthy that individuals prefer to live in small groups. In such families there can be up to 8 elephants. Most often, an adult female is at the head. The remaining members of the family are cubs and sisters of the leader.
2. As in most cases, in this species, males live separately. They also form their herds, where the largest and strongest elephant becomes the head. As for mating, males and females intersect exclusively during the mating season. The rest of the time, animals try not to get close to each other.
3. The individuals are polygamous. They do not seek to make a mate for life. On the contrary, individuals each time during the mating season replace their partner. As for devotion and care, such traits are manifested only among parents and young people.Pregnancy lasts almost 2 years.
4. As a result, only one baby is born. Within a few hours, he was quite capable of following his mother and leading a partially independent lifestyle. It is noteworthy that the offspring remains under the care of the mother up to 8 years. In this case, individuals can reach puberty from 9 to 15 years. Many subtleties depend on climatic conditions.
5. As for the diet, it is often based mainly on plant-based foods. With a long trunk, elephants get various fruits, leaves and berries from the trees. Also, individuals often feast on the kidneys and bark. It is noteworthy that such elephants are able to live up to 70 years.

The animals in question are unique in nature. For a long period, such individuals were considered a subspecies of the African elephant. Only recent studies have disproved such assumptions. However, such different species can interbreed. In this case, healthy and viable offspring are born.

Video: forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)