African Elephant :: essays papers

African ElephantThe common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the African Elephant are the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean (mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical location and range of the African elephant covers all(a) of central and southern Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad in Mali and Mauritania. Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Zaire, and in National parks rigid in South Africa, as well as several other countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan African habitats except retire from steppes. Elephants still occupy diverse habitats such as temperate grassland, equatorial savanna and gra ss lands, temperate forest and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are restricted to protect areas. The elephant can exist in many types of environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have wad of rainfall. This ensures plenty of food, shade, and water. The elephant prefers a habitat of mixed woodland and grassland which gives them an opportunity to course a variety of vegetation. African Elephants are considered herbivores, they are both browsers and grazers they will eat rough sticks, stems and leaves of plants as well as grasses, sedges, and fruit. Their favorites are mangoes, berries and coconuts. An elephant eats up to 500 pounds of vegetation every day and drinks up to 50 gallons of water daily . Elephants moldiness consume these giant quantities of food, due to their poor digestive system. The small intestine is 82 feet long, the large intestine 21 feet long, and the rectum adds a further 13 feet. The worry with the digestive tract lies in their gut elephants have too few symbiotic bacteria. These are the organisms which help break down the cellulose of plant cell walls by producing enzymes called cellulases. The most remarkable feature of the elephants digestive system is its 5 feet long appendix, bigger than the stomach.