Elephant Facts, Difference Between African and Asian Elephant

Here are some facts about elephants:

• Elephants can live between 50 and 70 years.
• Elephants are not good sleepers; elephants sleep a maximum of four hours per day/night.
• An elephant’s ear helps it keep cool. As the ears flap in the breeze, blood is cooled that runs inside the ear flap. The ears are thin enough to allow the blood to cool inside.
• An elephant use its trunk for variety of purposes, such as picking food or drinking.
• An elephant’s tusk can grow up to 10 feet length and 200 pounds in weight.
• There are three species of elephants live today: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant (a.k.a. the Indian elephant).
• The elephant’s brain is larger than any other animal in the world.
• The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek ἐλέφας, meaning "ivory" or "elephant".
• September 22nd is Elephant Appreciation Day.
• Elephants cannot trot, jump, or gallop.
• Elephants are said to have no natural predators except the humans.
• Elephants’ gestation period is 22 months, the longest pregnancy of any land animal.
• Elephants are good swimmers.
• Elephants live in families. Several families live together in a herd.
• Elephants spend about 16 hours a day eating plants.
• An adult elephant consumes 140–270 kg (300–600 lb) of food a day.

The difference between African Elephant and Asian Elephant

			African Elephant			Asian Elephant
	Latin name		Loxodonta africana			Elephas maximus
	Shoulder height		8.2 to 13 ft (2.5 to 4 m)			6.6 to 9.8 ft (2 to 3 m)
	Weight		5,000 to 14,000 lbs (2,268 to 6,350 kg)			2.25 to 5.5 tons (2,041 to 4,990 kg)
	Head		Rounded heads with a single dome,			Twin domes with an indent in the middle
	Ears		Larger, reaching up and over the neck			Smaller
	Trunk		African elephants have two fingerlike features on the end of their trunk			One fingerlike features on the end of their trunk
	Tusks		Both male and female African elephants have large tusks			Only the males have large tusks, the females have only small tusks or no tusks at all
	Skin		Wrinkles			Smoother, covered with more hair
	Ribs		21			20
	Feet		African elephants have 3 nails on each hind foot, and 4 on each front foot.			Asian elephants have 4 nails on each hind foot and 5 on each front foot
	Highest Point		Shoulder			Back