What is the tallest elephant. The biggest elephant

Dwelling on dry land. Its size excites the imagination, since a person is just a short man compared to him. However, even among these animals there are those who are clearly superior to their counterparts in size. Therefore, let's go on a short educational walk and find out: how much does the most big elephant in the world? Where does he live? And what curious secrets hides?

Descendants of ancient giants

The history of the origin of elephants has its roots in those distant times, when a great cooling slowly approached the earth. According to the latest research, the first elephant-like creatures were born about 1.6 million years ago. They were a random genetic error - a mutation that forever separated the mastodons into two separate species.

At the same time, elephant-like animals also succumbed to evolutionary changes over the years. They formed three separate subspecies. Namely, mammoths, Indian and First, unfortunately, could not survive to this day. But the other two still walk on the lands familiar to us. But the most curious thing is that over the course of all these long years they have not changed much.

Indian and African elephant: who is bigger?

Even in the last century, scientists were sure that all elephants are the same, regardless of the region in which they live. However, more recent studies have shown this to be false. In fact, the largest elephant is African. An animal from the Black Continent overtakes its Asian relative both in body weight and in height.

It should also be noted that the African elephant is also divided into two large subspecies: savannah and forest. The first one is larger. It follows from this that the largest elephant in the world is the one that lives in the expanses of the African savannas. It is he who is the owner of the title "the largest land animal on the planet."

Some numbers: how much does an adult elephant weigh?

Let's start, probably, with the smallest representative of the elephant family - Indian, or, as it is also called, This animal lives in Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, India, Vietnam and China. On average, males of this species grow up to 2.5-3 m in height, and their weight ranges from 4.0-4.5 tons. Females are much shorter than their cavaliers - they rarely grow more than 2.4 m and weigh about 2-2.5 tons.

The forest African elephant is in many ways similar to its Indian relative. This is especially true of its proportions. So, the males of this species grow up to 3 m in height, however, today you rarely meet such strong men. On average, forest elephants reach 2.6 m, and their weight ranges from 2.5-3 tons. Females have approximately the same body proportions and are only slightly inferior to their cavaliers.

As for the savannah subspecies, it is truly the largest elephant on the planet. These giants can grow up to 4 meters in height, and their maximum weight varies between 5-6 tons. Their body length reaches 6-7 meters. At the same time, females, like those of other subspecies, are much smaller than their cavaliers.

The largest elephant in the world: who is he?

According to the old archives, the largest was an elephant caught by hunters in Angola in the 19th century. Its weight was just under 12.5 tons, and each tusk weighed at least 50 kilograms. However, given the remoteness of the incident, it is rather difficult to confirm the veracity of these documents.

But official data suggests that the largest elephant is Yossi. That's the name of the 32 year old African giant living in the park "Safari" near the city of Romat-Gan. The weight of this animal is 6 tons, and its height is 3.7 meters. At the same time, the elephant is still quite young, and therefore there is a high probability that Yossi will grow even more over the next ten years.

Some interesting facts about elephants

Few know that:

• The largest Indian elephant was shot dead in 1924. His weight was 8 tons, and his height was 3.35 m.
• Having strong legs, the elephant is nevertheless the only animal on the planet that does not know how to jump at all.
• In one day, an adult male can eat about 200 kilograms of plant food and drink 300 liters of water.
• Elephants very rarely kneel or squat. Moreover, these animals sleep standing up, and only small elephants are able to lie on their side.
• Despite such large proportions of the body, the elephant can run at a speed of 40 km / h. While running, he easily breaks through a brick wall, and in case of panic, he will completely trample anyone who gets under his feet.

The largest elephant in the world An elephant is considered the largest animal living on earth - it boasts an excellent memory, it can distinguish simple songs. In general, it lends itself well to learning. Did you know that there is an elephant that can paint a whole picture using its own trunk?

What is the largest elephant? A massive body, huge ears, a long trunk and a couple more tusks, although the latter are not inherent in everyone. These colossi chose Africa and India as their residence. Elephants often take a mud shower - this is how they escape from annoying insects. The mud, drying up, forms a crust that, like a shell, protects its thick skin. It is officially recorded that the largest elephant weighs 12,000 kg. Usually, their weight does not exceed eight thousand kilograms.

In the jewelry industry, there is a great demand for tusks - they are used to make original jewelry which are very popular. Poachers during the hunt are not stopped by the fact that elephants are listed in the Red Book. In India, elephants are used to facilitate labor - elephants come out of good vehicle especially in difficult places. On the African peninsula, such treatment of animals is not practiced.

The diet of elephants consists of plants, they can gnaw on the bark of trees. They prefer to eat carrots, they are unlikely to resist an apple. Elephants have a terrible sweet tooth, and are able to stand indefinitely near the fence of the enclosure in the hope that they will be treated to a sweet treat. FROM a large number of sweets, animals not only get fat, but also become addicted to sweets.

Asian elephants

There are three types of elephants living in Azi - Sri Lankan, Indian, Sumatran. Of the Sri Lankan individuals, the most prominent is an elephant 3.5 m high and weighing 5.5 tons. He lives on the island after which he is named. Indian elephant not uncommon, you can meet him in any of the Asian countries. It weighs no more than 5 tons. The smallest Sumatran - growth is 2.5 m, and weight - three tons.

African elephant

These are the largest animals on the planet. In nature, there are two types African elephants- savanna and forest. The first of them can weigh up to eight tons and grow up to four meters, the latter are inferior to them in their parameters - no more than five tons and three meters in height. These are very friendly animals, fights and quarrels rarely arise between relatives. Usually they live in one large herd, take care of the cubs, and do not leave the sick in trouble. During mating, due to the increased level of testosterone, elephants can be aggressive, and only during this period can one elephant injure another member of its kind. With females, the relationship is tender - after looking at the couple, the elephants move a short distance from the herd and there, far from prying eyes, they indulge in mutual caresses.

Until the baby elephants are five years old, they are under the tireless attention of their mother, upon reaching 15 years old, the elephant becomes an adult. In the savannah, young elephants are in danger - lions. One largest elephant is able to eat 100 kg of grass - often these good-natured creatures cause the death of shrubs and trees. Due to the destruction of green spaces, the shooting of these large animals was allowed. Average age the life of an African giant is 60-70 years. Unlike their Indian relatives, African ones are much more difficult to train.

Elephant Yossi

The world's largest elephant lives at the Safari Zoo in Israel. He has reached a very respectable age - he is 32 years old, but continues to grow and is already barely squeezing through the gate leading to the courtyard - to overcome them, the elephant has to squat - the only way he can be on a walk. Experts believe that such a kind of exercise only benefits the animal. An elephant named Yossi became the tallest elephant ever to live in captivity. Now its height is 3.7 m. Its weight is 6 tons, the tail of an elephant is 1 meter, the trunk is 2.5 meters, ears = 1.2 meters. According to assumptions, the reasons for growth lie in the genes. An important factor is a complete meal.

Since ancient times, people have learned to use elephants for heavy work - transporting heavy burdens, people. Repeatedly took part in bloody battles. But you should not hang an unbearable burden on an elephant - an elephant is not omnipotent and is not able to lift a load that is more than a quarter of its weight.

Elephant is the largest to date land mammal, its weight is measured in tons and how much an elephant weighs depends on its type.

How much does an Asian elephant weigh?

Asian elephants are called Sri Lankan, Indian and Sumatran elephants.
A large adult Sri Lankan male elephant weighs up to 5.4 tons and can be up to 3.4 meters tall. Lives on the island of Sri Lanka.

The Indian elephant weighs less, about 5 tons, but is as tall as the Sri Lankan. Its habitat is almost all Asian countries, from the Indonesian archipelago to India.

The Sumatran elephant is the smallest of the Asian elephants. Its growth does not exceed 2.6 meters and the Sumatran elephant weighs "only" 3 tons. This animal lives only on the island of Sumatra.

How much does an African elephant weigh?

African elephants are larger than their Asian counterparts and they are the largest land animals on Earth. There are two types of African elephants - savanna and forest.

A male African bush elephant can weigh up to 7 tons and grow up to 4 meters. Savanna elephants graze mainly in the expanses of the African savannas, but can also be found in swamps and lake shores.

The forest African elephant weighs much less than the savannah - only about 4.5 tons and its growth reaches 3 meters. Forest elephants live in the jungles of Africa.

If we talk about how much an elephant can weigh as much as possible, then the largest elephant in the world was discovered in 1956 in the African country of Angola. His weight was 12 tons, and his height was 4.5 meters.

The African elephant is the largest of the modern land mammals. Elephants live in herds, led by the most experienced female. It is almost impossible for a single individual to get lost, as members of the herd communicate with each other through sounds that they hear even at a distance of 5 km.

Elephants now live mostly in isolated national parks and reserves. They live in South and Southeast Asia and Africa.

In connection with the habitat, two types of elephants are distinguished:

• African
• Indian

Elephants and their habits

Elephants choose to live in spaces with trees, in close proximity to water. During the rainy season, they feed on plants growing on the ground, especially grasses.

During the dry season, elephants migrate to the higher forests in search of food.

Listen to the elephant's voice

These beautiful animals live in herds of up to 50 individuals. They travel long distances every day in search of food and water. The bond between members of the herd is very strong, and the sick or injured are always taken care of.

Why do African elephants have big ears?

Elephants, like all large animals, must deal with the problem of overheating of the body. Helps maintain proper body temperature big ears.

Trunk

Perhaps the most distinguishing feature elephant long trunk. It is not only an organ of smell and touch, it is also used for personal hygiene and protection. With a trunk, an elephant can very accurately take objects or food. It is so strong that an adult animal is able to lift a whole tree with its trunk.

tusks

Elephant tusks are actually long teeth. With their help, animals dig roots and remove the bark of trees. During a drought, the elephant digs holes in the ground with its powerful tusks in search of water.

The forest elephant has five toes on its front legs and four on its hind legs. African elephants, respectively, 4 and 3 fingers.