What do elephants eat? Introduction to their main food types

Elephants are the largest living land-dwelling social mammals in the world, usually active in family units, and sometimes several elephant herds gather together to form a group of over a hundred elephants. Due to climate and human factors, the number of species in this group is declining. At present, only three species of elephants remain on Earth: the Asian elephant, the African bush elephant, and the African forest elephant. Let us take a look below at what elephants eat!

What do elephants eat?

Elephants feed on plants such as tender leaves, wild fruits, wild grasses, wild vegetables, and tender bamboo. They are pure vegetarians, truly the strongmen and giants of the land animal world, with long trunks and long tusks as weapons. Therefore, in nature, apart from humans, they have no natural enemies. They cannot see at night, so they are easily attacked by lion prides at night.

How long do elephants live?

1. African elephant: The African elephant is the largest living terrestrial mammal and is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Its breeding period is not fixed, the gestation period is about 22 months, and it gives birth to 1 calf per pregnancy. It reaches sexual maturity at 13 to 14 years old and has a lifespan of more than 60 years.

2. Asian elephant: The Asian elephant is a Class I protected animal in China and is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Its breeding period is not fixed, the gestation period is 20 to 22 months, and it gives birth to 1 calf per pregnancy. It reaches sexual maturity at 9 to 12 years old and has a lifespan of 70 to 80 years.

Existing species of elephants

1. Bush elephant: The African elephant lives in the vast tropical forests, jungles, and grasslands of Africa. It is the largest living terrestrial mammal. It is social, led by a male elephant, diurnal, and non-sedentary. Does it feed on wild grasses, leaves, bark, and tender branches? Its ears are large and pointed at the lower part. Both males and females have long, curved tusks. It has an extremely irascible temperament and will actively attack other animals.

2. African forest elephant: The African forest elephant has round ears and is relatively small, generally no more than 2.5 m tall, with a maximum height of only 2.8 m and a body weight of 3 tons. Genetic analysis has proven that it is not the same species as the African bush elephant and has clearly different genetic characteristics from the African bush elephant. Its external features are also very different. In the past, an even smaller pygmy elephant was discovered in the African rainforest, and it is now considered to be an immature individual of the African forest elephant. The flesh under its feet becomes larger, making it better adapted to water-scarce life. It is very good at conserving water and will search for water sources in the desert.

3. Asian elephant: The Asian elephant is distributed in southern Yunnan Province, China, and abroad it is found in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It lives in tropical forests, jungles, or grassland areas. It is social, has relatively poor vision (mainly because the elephant's eyelashes are relatively long, which affects eyesight), and has keen smell and hearing. When it is hot, it likes water baths, and it forages at dawn and dusk. It feeds on wild grasses, leaves, bamboo leaves, wild fruits, and so on. Its shoulder height is 2.6 to 3.3 m, and its body weight is 5 to 7 tons.