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Caitlin O'Connell Writer and Photographer for "The Elephant Scientist"

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Loxodonta africana

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Vulnerable

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The biggest treats to elephants are:
1. Habitat loss and fragmentation
2. Human-elephant conflict
3. Illegal wildlife trade

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Mothers bunch the young in between herself and another elephant, whether it be the father or another mother also running to safety.

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In 1930's there used to be as many as 10 million wild elephants within Africa. Now that they are being hunted by Poachers their numbers are at a steady decline. Today there are as few as 415,000 elephants left in Africa.

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Elephants are left like this after someone goes and kills them to remove their tusk to either sale or keep as a trophy.

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Largest of the 2 African Elephants.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable but population is increasing
Lifespan: 60-70 years
Males can weight up to 13k lbs and women can weigh up yo 6,600 lbs.

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I tried to find the largest footprint BUT this website gives facts about the difference between male & female

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African Elephant Facts - Elephants For Africa

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A collection of fascinating African elephant facts. Do you know how far an elephant can swim or how much an elephant weighs or where they originate from?

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May be graphic to some.
Male Elephants (Bulls) fighting

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Elephant vs Elephant Deadliest Fight - Nat Geo wild

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They are born leaders. It is not a gained trait

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Sound of the African Bushveld, Elephants - AFRICAN WILDLIFE

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Mothers as always are very important!! Baby elephants are nearly blind at birth and the mothers provide important relief.

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A matriarch is a leader of an elephant family, and is usually the oldest female in that family. Elephant families revolve around females. Males leave at puberty and become socially independent, but females remain within their families for their whole lives.

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** Fun Fact**
Mother elephants have the best memories because they need to remember their enemies and where they often go for food.

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An elephants tusk never stops growing. Longer tusks show the great age of an elephant. Both male and female elephants grow tusks with the exception of Asian elephants. With them only the males grow tusks. If you were to see a tusk-less elephant you would be looking at a female Asian elephant.

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Scientists nowadays who study African elephants are trying to decipher their language to create the first elephant dictionary. Isn't that just out of this world! Think about it the noises that they make maybe one day we will be able to understand them and actually know what is being said from one elephant to another.

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Elephants eat a wide range of plant materials along with grass, leaves, as well as woody parts of trees and shrubs. When available they also eat some flowers and fruits. In the course of a year an elephant can eat up to 50 tons of food.

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With the great mind of an elephant they have adapted to protect their skins from the sun. They do so by creating their own sunscreen with mud and sand being thrown onto their skin after they have had a river or swam bath. Isn't that AMAZING!?!