African bush elephant

The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the larger of the two species of African elephant.Shoshani, Jeheskel et al 2005. Mammal species of the world. 3rd ed,  2 vols, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 91.  It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown males reaching an average shoulder height of  and a body mass of ; the largest recorded specimen had a shoulder height of  and an estimated body mass of . The African bush elephant is characterised by its long trunk.Larramendi A. 2016. Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 61 (3): 537–574.  

The population of bush elephants has drastically declined in the last thirty years. It is hunted for its ivory and meat. Protection by game wardens has been only partly successful.

This large elephant is well adapted to the grassland plains of East Africa, and it is sometimes called the African savannah elephant. 

The African bush elephant occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Angola. 

It moves between a variety of habitats. These include subtropical and temperate forests, dry and seasonally flooded grasslands and woodlands, wetlands and agricultural land from sea level to mountain slopes. In Mali and Namibia, it also lives at times in desert areas.

 References 

Category:Elephants
Category:Mammals of Africa