Post #14818

Forest Elephant: Did you know that there are 3 types of elephants? It opened only 15 years ago I know this will sound strange, but finding an elephant is harder than it seems. 200 years ago, no one suspected that forest elephants existed. 100 years ago, everyone was sure that this was just a subspecies of savanna elephants. It was only in 2010, due to the advent of advanced genome analysis methods, that we finally found out that this is a full-fledged separate species of elephant, which is very different from its African relatives! First of all, it differs in size. Forest elephants are the smallest living elephants. A large adult forest elephant is slightly more than 2 meters tall and weighs from 2 to 4 tons. Yes, by human standards they are simply huge. But by the standards of African savannah elephants, these are puny teenagers! After all, an adult savannah elephant is one meter taller and weighs 6 tons. And the record holders weigh up to 10 tons! But you and I won’t run around elephants with rulers, right? Therefore, I have a simple life hack for you on how to distinguish a forest elephant from a savanna elephant. If an elephant's tusks are thick and curved, it means the elephant is a savanna elephant. And if they are thinner and almost straight, then you are looking at a forest elephant. There is a logical explanation for this difference in size - it’s hard to be big in the forest. Especially if it is the dense tropical jungle of Central Africa. An animal that is too large will spend a lot of time where smaller elephants can pass without problems. But still, even a relatively small elephant needs to eat up to 100 kilograms of fruits and fresh herbs every day. Even the jungle cannot provide so much food in one place, so the herds are constantly moving from place to place, trying to grab a fresh harvest of fruit before other frugivores do. In a year, a herd of elephants migrates at least 2000 kilometers! In terms of herd structure, forest elephants are no different from herds of other proboscideans. It is always led by an experienced matriarch, followed by adult females and a pack of their children of both sexes. At this time, adult males either wander alone or stay in small bachelor groups. But there are also differences: groups of forest elephants are much larger and can number up to 20 individuals. They are also much more chatty. Their range of vocalizations is greater than that of their savanna relatives, and they talk to each other more often. Apparently, thanks to the incessant chatter, they are able to hang out in such large groups. Such sociability greatly makes life easier for elephants and reduces the risk of offspring dying from the fangs of large predators. However, despite friendly teams and mutual support, even in an ideal year their numbers grow by only 5%. After all, females give birth to one cub once every 5-6 years, and the new generation reaches adulthood by 12 (females) and 15 (males) years. They repro