Asian Elephants vs African Elephants

Asian Elephants vs African Elephants
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Elephants, the largest existing land animals belong to the family of Elephantidae, which included the extinct animals of Mammoths and Straight tusker elephants. Asian elephants, African Savanna elephants and African Forest elephants are the three species currently recognized.

The distinctive features of all three species are;

Feature
Asian elephants
African bush elephants
African forest elephants
Scientific Name
Elephas maximus
Loxodonta africana
Loxodonta cyclones
Can grow up to
5.5-6.4 m (from trunk to tail)
9 m (from trunk to tail)
More than 9 m (from trunk to tail)
Weight
2,000-5,000  Kg (approx.)
5,442  Kg (approx.)
2,743 Kg (approx.)
Height
2-3 m (up to shoulder)
4 m (up to shoulder)
2.5 m (up to shoulder)
Average life span
42 Years
56 Years
56 years
Distribution

Elephas maximus maximus

(Sri Lankan elephant)

– Only in Sri Lanka

Elephas maximus indicus

(Indian elephants)

– India, Thailand, Vietnam,

   Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos,                                                         Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal,

   China

Elephas maximus sumatranus

(Sumatran elephants)

– Indonesian island of Sumatra 

Elephas maximus borneensis

(Borneo elephant or Asian pygmy elephant)

– Borneo in Indonesia and Malaysia

Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana,

Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Angola,

Mali, Namibia, Ethiopia

Ivory Coast, Ghana,

Cameroon, Congo, Gabon




Trunk
Trunk of an elephant is the most sensitive organ in any mammal. It does not have any bone and made up of 40,000 muscles enabling elephants to lift heavyweights. This unique organ functions as a nose and upper lip of an elephant. There are fingers on the tip of the trunk. African elephants have two fingers whereas Asian has only one finger. This finger gives them the ability to grip any object. Asian elephant can pick up a peanut, shell it and eat the nut while blowing out the shell.
Elephant uses his trunk for breathing, smelling and finding food and water, as snorkels while swimming, to grab and grip item, to show affection to one and another and producing sound.
Tusks and Teeth
The enlarged incisor teeth make the tusks of an elephant. All the African elephants have tusks but not many Asian elephants have tusks. It is used for feeding and defence while fighting. 
An elephant has 4 molar teeth on either side of the mouth on both top and bottom. Six sets of teeth being replaced in their lifetime due to wear out of use. Once six sets of teeth used up elephant cannot feed properly. Solitary elephants specially males die due to starvation unless the herd help them to feed. 

Ears and Communication
Ears of an elephant is a more prominent organ. African elephants have much larger ears than Asian. They are made up of a complex network of blood vessels that help them to regulate the temperature.
Elephants are communicating with each other by sound, touch and scent. They use ears as a communication tool. Joy or aggression is signified by flapping their ears. The elephants can hear calling from another 4 km away from him. Depending on the environmental condition it can be extended up to 10 km. They can recognize the human voice and can distinguish male or female too.
Skin
The skin of an elephant has 2.5 cm thickness in most areas that help to irritate insect bites. Asian elephants are covered with reddish-brown hair which is more prominent in youngers. African elephants’ skin is in grey colour whereas Asians vary from dark grey to brown. Elephants protect their skin from sunburn by regular mud and dust bathing.

Eyesight
Elephants have poor eyesight due to the small size of the eye. It ranges up to 7.6 m. Elephants are one of the few animals that can recognize their image from a mirror.
Feet
Elephants’ feet are covered with soft padding to bear its’ weight. African elephants have 4 toenails on both front and back feet where Asian elephants have 5 toenails on front and 4 on the back. Elephants’ normal walking speed is about 6.44 kmph and that can be increased up to 40 kmph. (Human walking speed is only 4.8 kmph)
Tail
Elephants have approximately 1.3 m long tail. That is made up of very coarse wire-like hair. it is used for chasing away insects.

Early life
Female elephants can start having babies from the age of 14. Elephant mother can have 4 to 5 babies during their lifetime. The pregnancy period is 22 months. Baby Asian elephant can stand around 20 minutes after birth and can walk within one hour. They suckle through their mouth. It has taken several months to gain full control of its trunk. Then they start eating grasses and foliage. Baby elephants are under their mother and other relatives’ supervision till they start the independent movement after around 4 years of age.
Feeding
Elephants are herbivores. They eat grasses, plants and fruits. Elephants spend 12 to 15 hours for eating. They need 150 kg of food and 160 litres of water per day.
Social behaviour 
Elephants are living in a large group called “herd”. These herds comprise female elephants of different ages and their calves. The number of elephants in a herd can vary from 8 to 100. The oldest and wisest female of the herd leads the group. Male elephants leave those herds at the age of 13 and live a solitary life or temporary period with a group of male elephants. Elephants are intelligent animal with an excellent memory. 
 
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