Elephants

-Ma Tembo, The Kilio Valley Fire

**Elephants** are mammals that appear in *The Lion Guard* universe. They live in the Pride Lands.

## Appearance

### In the Real World

The animal is characterized by its large head; two large ears that cover its shoulders and radiate excess heat; a large and muscular trunk; two prominent tusks, which are well-developed in both sexes, although more commonly in males; a short neck; a large, barrel-like body; four long and heavy legs; and a relatively short tail.

The animal is protected by a heavy but flexible layer of gray-brown skin, dotted with mostly undeveloped patches of hair and long, black hair at the tip of its tail. Its back feet have three toes that form a hoof, while the number of toes on the front feet have varied between four and five. The forehead is smoother and less convex than that of the Asian elephant.

The trunk is the most characteristic feature of the African elephant. It is formed by the fusion and elongation of the nose and upper lip, forming a flexible and strong organ made purely of muscle.

### In The Lion Guard

Elephants in *The Lion Guard* vary in shade, but are typically gray or blue-gray in color. They occasionally have darker spots on their bodies. Like real elephants, they are large animals with wide ears and a muscular trunk.

## Information

### In the Real World

Elephants are large land mammals in two genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta. Three species of elephant are living today: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant.

The African bush elephant is the largest living terrestrial animal, normally reaching 6 to 7.3 metres (19.7 to 24.0 ft) in length and 3.5 to 4 metres (11.5 to 13.1 ft) in height at the head, and weighing between 6,000 to 9,000 kg (13,000 to 20,000 lb).[1].

Elephants are mostly herbivorous. Their diet varies according to their habitat; elephants living in forests, partial deserts, and grasslands all eat different proportions of herbs and tree or shrubbery leaves. These animals typically ingest an average of 225 kg of vegetable matter daily, which is defecated without being fully digested. Elephants are capable of ripping apart all kind of plants, and knock down trees with the tusks if they are not able to reach the tree leaves. Elephants also drink great quantities of water, over 190 liters per day.

### In *The Lion Guard*

The elephants in *The Lion Guard* live in Kilio Valley. They have their own language, called Elephantese, and have seasonal concerts that feature trumpeting songs, as music is important to them. Elephants are known to take their traditions very seriously, such as the tradition of giving a tribute spoken in Elephantese- *Eihe kala pano tou,*which translates literally to *he had good on him*- at the funerals of elephants that have completed their life.

## Notable Elephants in *The Lion Guard*

* **Jumbo Jumbo**
* **Leader of the Elephant Bullies**
	+ **Einstein**
	+ **Ned**
* **Ma Tembo's Herd**
	+ **Ma Tembo**
	+ **Aminifu**
	+ **Chama**
	+ **Johari**
	+ **Mtoto**
	+ **Mtoto's Mom**
	+ **Zito**
	+ **Zigo**

## Trivia

* Elephants are featured in the *It's Unbungalievable!* short *Who's Louder?*.
* In the show, adult male elephants live in herds with the females and young, though in real life, they leave their herds when they have reached adolescence.
* Females use their trunks to shower their young.
* Males are called bulls.
* Calves hide from predators among larger elephants.
* Their tusks are actually huge teeth.
* They flap their ears to fan themselves.
* An elephant's heart beats about a third of the rate of a human heart - the larger the animal, the slower the heartbeat.
* When elephants feel threatened, they hold their ears out wide to make themselves look even bigger. Then they snap the ears back and make a loud, trumpeting noise with their trunk.
* African forest elephants are smaller than the elephants that live on the savanna.
	+ Their tusks are slimmer and straighter, and their skin is smoother. These features help forest elephants move through thick forests more easily.