Females are about 2 feet shorter and weigh half as much. Savanna grasslands and forests. Throuhgout Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Home ranges average 290-620 square miles depending on the abundance of food. Adult males and females live separately except during the breeding season.
Females live in family units led by the oldest female.
Females stay with the family unit, while males live alone or in small temporary groups after reaching adulthood. The tip of the trunk has two finger-like lips. Trunk is used for grasping food, as a snorkel while swimming, for smelling and to spray water or dirt on their backs to cool them off. First appear at 2 years of age and continue to grow throughout life reaching an average of 130 pounds each in males by 60 years of age. Females carry young for almost 2 years.