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Because ivory is so valuable to some humans, many elephants have been killed for their tusks. This trade is illegal today, but it has not been completely eliminated, and some African elephant populations remain endangered.

“African Elephant.” National Geographic, National Geographic, 21 Sept. 2018, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/african-elephant/.

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Conservationists recognize the need to work beyond protected areas if they are to sustain viable populations of wildlife. But ambitious plans to extend wildlife corridors beyond protected areas must consider the economic and political implications when wildlife forage on crops, attack livestock, or otherwise threaten human security. Traditionally, humans respond by killing “problem” wildlife and transforming wild habitats to prevent further losses. This traditional response, however, is now illegal or socially unacceptable in many areas, changing a simple competitive relationship between people and wildlife into a political conflict. Here we draw from experience in Bolivia, Uganda, and Wisconsin to outline a strategy for mitigating human–wildlife conflict based on participatory methods and co-management with twin objectives of wildlife conservation and safeguarding human security. Incorporating local stakeholders as partners in planning and implementation can help to win space for wildlife beyond protected area boundaries. We also show why systematic study of local people's perceptions of risk and participant planning of interventions are irreplaceable components of such projects. “Co-Managing Human–Wildlife Conflicts: A Review.” Taylor and Francis Online, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10871200600984265.

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Africa now has 352,271 savannah elephants left in 93 percent of the species range. The aerial survey covered 18 african countries. In 15 of those where information on previous populations existed. 144,000 elephants were lost to ivory poaching and habitat destruction in less than a decade. “African Elephants Numbers Plummet 30 Percent, Survey Finds.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 2 Aug. 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-african-elephants-population-decrease-great-elephant-census/.

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the African Elephants other role is to pull down trees and break up thorn bushes.  As a result they create grasslands and salt licks in order to make other animals lives easier to survive in their environment. Their final role is that they create water holes by digging in dry river beds.

Geographic distribution of an african elephant.

At birth elephants already weigh up to 200 pounds and stand to be about 3 feet tall. African elephants, unlike their asian relatives are not easily domesticated. They range throughout sub-saharan, Africa and the rainforest of central and west  africa. The continents northernmost elephants are found mali sahel desert.

Currently Africa is losing its most valuable mammals to poachers and wildlife trafficking.

This trade is illegal today, but it has not been completely eliminated, and some African elephant populations remain endangered. Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, and they eat a lot of these things. An adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds of food in a single day.Oxpeckers are birds that land on elephants, where they eat lice, ticks, and other parasites living on elephants' skin and hair. This symbiotic relationship benefits the elephant by removing irritating pests that can spread disease, and the oxpecker also benefits by getting an easy meal.

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Special mating rituals ~ Males stay with the family until they reach 12 to 15 years of age, when they leave the herd and live alone or join up with other bulls. Male and female elephants live separately with bulls only visiting when some of the females are in their mating season, known as estrus. Elephants mature later than many other animals.“How Do Elephants Mate?” Sciencing.com, Sciencing, sciencing.com/elephants-mate-4574022.html.

How often do they reproduce and what season ~ The female estrus cycle lasts approximately three weeks each year. The usually reproduce in October and November. Meggitt, Jane. “How Often Do Elephants Mate Per Year?” Animals - Mom.me, 21 Nov. 2017, animals.mom.me/elephants-mate-per-year-11166.html.

The offsprings ~ The average elephant get pregnant every 5 to so years, the calf will stay in the womb for almost 2 years before being birthed. The female elephant can have up to 6 babies in her lifetime.

Baby Elephants .

Color ~ Gray.

Weight ~ Estimated around 200 lbs.

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Improve elephant protection and management - by providing equipment and training to anti-poaching teams; promoting the creation of new protected areas and improving the management of existing protected areas; developing community-based wildlife management schemes that contribute to elephant conservation while providing benefits to local people; and determining population sizes.

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by monitoring trends in the illegal trade in elephant products; conducting surveys to update data on domestic ivory markets; and working with the WWF and TRAFFIC Wildlife Crime Initiative.

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COLOR-  Grey

WEIGHT- 13,000 pounds

LIFESPAN- 60-70 years