Page 93 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - South Africa

FIELD GUIDE  91

Feeding KEY FACTS
A versatile feeder, the African Loxondonta africana
elephant is a mixed grazer-
browser that spends up to Local names: Ndlovu (Zulu),
15 hours daily chomping 200 kg Tlou (Tswana), Olifant
(440 lb) of vegetable matter. It (Afrikaans)
The trunk is used to reach high drinks up to 200 litres (44 gallons)
branches or to dislodge ripe fruit daily, arriving at a waterhole a few Size Shoulder height: 2.5–
4 m (8–13 ft); Weight: up to
hours after sunrise and often lingering on until late 6,300 kg (13,890 lb).
afternoon to play in the water or spray itself. Herds
range widely in search of food, but concentrated Lifespan 65 years.
populations in protected areas often cause serious Population in South
environmental degradation by uprooting trees. Africa 25,000.
Conservation status VU.
Gestation Period
22 months.
Reproduction Typically,
females first conceive in
their early teens and give
birth at 5-yearly intervals
until their late 50s.
Habitat All except desert.
Top Places to See
Addo Elephant, Tembe
Elephant, Madikwe,
Pilanesberg, Kruger.
Sighting Tips
A trail of football-sized dung
and mangled vegetation are
sure signs that elephants
have passed by.
Friends and Foes
Communication and Voice Elephant droppings are a
treat for dung beetles,
It was long thought that aural communication between which feed almost
elephants was limited to bouts of trumpeting. In 1987, researchers exclusively on fecal matter.
discovered that the elephant’s main means of communication
are subsonic rumblings, below or at the edge of human Facts and Trivia
perception, that can travel through The legend of elephant
the earth for several miles. These are graveyards has a factual
Adult females maintain a vigilant watch basis. Old elephants whose
over their young until they are old enough to deter predators. picked up by the skin on the trunk last set of teeth has worn
A female gives birth to a 100-kg (220-lb) calf every 5 to 10 years. and feet, allowing dispersed herds down gather in marshes
Each calf thus represents a major genetic investment for the to coordinate their movements to feed on waterlogged
matriarchal herd, and is raised communally. Matriarchal herds over a vast area. Elephants also vegetation, until even that
comprise up to four generations of sisters, daughters and grand- have an exceptional sense of Elephants use their feet to sense the becomes difficult and they
daughters, dominated by the oldest female. smell and good eyesight. distant subsonic rumblings of a peer starve to death.

Elephants spray
themselves with water
Tusks and trunk are both used The trunk is regularly used to tear or dust to help cool
to dig for subterranean water in juicy branches from the canopy and down under the hot
riverbeds during the dry season. manoeuvre them into the mouth. tropical sun.

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