The elephant is an amazing creation of nature, about which many books have been written. But the fate of this animal is so sad that the public of all countries does not cease to sound the alarm.
There are two main varieties of elephants: the African elephant and the Indian. The first species lives only on the hot African plains, and the second can be found only in Asian tropical forests.
Indian elephants look like their African counterparts. But if you put these two species side by side, then the differences will be very noticeable. In particular, the African elephant is taller than the Indian, its height reaches four meters, and its back has a sloping shape, in contrast to the curved back of the Indian elephant. But the easiest way to distinguish between these two species is in the shape of the ears: in African animals they are large and resemble the silhouette of Africa with their outlines, while in Indian animals they are smaller, and their shape does not cause any associations.
The African elephant is rightfully considered the real king of animals in his native savannah. Its mass averages five and a half tons, and for the largest males it can reach seven and a half tons.
Bearing bones that hold such a huge mass, the elephants are extremely powerful and durable. The bones of the legs essentially serve as supporting pillars, and the spine serves as a bridge to maintain such an impressive body. The anatomical structure of elephants is so unusual that they are allocated in a separate detachment of animals - proboscis.
The trunk is in its own way a unique, very mobile and flexible organ, which is a fused nose and upper lip. With a trunk, elephants can grab food, pinch grass, break branches, pull out roots, and then send the food they get into their mouths.
At the end of the trunk there are nostrils through which the animal can draw up to 14 liters of water, then pour it into the mouth and quench your thirst. Blowing water upwards, they form a whole fountain of spray to cool and wash the body.
The trunk also serves as a means of communication. Elephants not only make loud trumpet sounds, but also, swinging their trunk, create infrasound waves, with the help of which they transmit information over a distance of 10 km. And if the elephant gets annoyed, it hits the ground with its trunk, making a frightening drum battle.
For all their formidable appearance, these animals are exclusively vegetarians. They chew grass, leaves, fruits, roots, branches, tree bark for 16 hours a day. It is not easy to feed them, because an adult African elephant eats up to 400 kg of various vegetation on average. At the same time, a little more than 40% of the food eaten is absorbed from him. These giants also drink a lot - up to 220 liters of water per day.
Elephants spend only five hours of night time sleeping. More often than not, they just doze quietly while standing still. But in the middle of the day, when the heat becomes unbearable, animals must rest.
The skin of elephants is very thick, 3-4 cm, but even it cannot fully protect them from the ruthless rays of the sun. Therefore, they moisturize it and cool, taking a mud bath. Elephants flop in the mud so as to cover it with a layer of the whole body. At the same time, this procedure helps get rid of annoying biting insects.
All elephants live in separate family groups, which are led by elderly elephants - matriarchs. The family includes daughters, sisters of the matriarch and all cubs, including immature males. And adult males, starting from the age of 15, prefer loneliness, living separately from the "female group".
How many elephants live? On average, they live to 60-70 years, if they do not die earlier from attacks by predators and at the hands of poachers. Lions often hunt elephants, so the first time the elephants carefully monitor each step of the cubs, and they keep the babies under their belly even during movement.
But not predators are the main enemy of elephants. In the period from 1981 to 1989, the number of African elephants was halved - from 1.2 million to 623 thousand. The reason for this is a violation of the natural habitats of elephants: deforestation, plowing of land. Protecting their crops, farmers often kill the animals native to these lands.
But even more elephants die due to hunter-poachers. The African elephant attracts greedy people with its expensive tusks, meat and skin. And if earlier mature males became the main target, now poachers have switched to young growth and females. To get a ton of ivory, it is necessary to destroy about 113 elephants. Because of this, fifty elephants die too, who lose their mothers too early to survive on their own. Such extermination has become a real disaster for the peaceful giants.
Since 1989, the sale of ivory has been completely prohibited, as elephants are in real danger of complete extinction. It is expected that not only the law, but also public opinion will lead to a drop in demand for goods that are produced from killed rare animals, which will help save elephants from further destruction.