The trunk of an elephant is formed from the upper lip and the nose. It is highly sensitive and enables the elephant to lift food and water from ground level to its mouth—tasks that would otherwise be challenging due to the height of an elephant. To drink, elephants suction water up into their trunk (as much as ten quarts) and then spray it into their mouth. The elephant's nasal openings are located at the end of its trunk.
Elephants have sparse hair covering their body and their skin. Their skin, which appears tough an leathery, is actually very sensitive and requires a great deal of care. Elephants bath frequently, wallow in the mud, and 'dust' their skin by tossing dirt over themselves. Bathing, wallowing, and dusting removes parasites and helps cool the elephant.
Elephants are herbivores and require a great deal of food each day—more than 400 kg per individual, daily (Myers 2000). They eat grass, foliage, twigs, branches and fruit. Elephants are capable of uprooting over entire trees as they forage. For this reason, elephants are often viewed as destructive pests wherever their range overlaps with human populations.
The skeleton of an elephant is shaped by its need to support the animal's massive weight. Elephants have stocky, sturdy limb bones and their feet are wide. The heel is reinforced with a cushion of dense connective tissue.
Classification:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order: Proboscidea
The Order Proboscidea contains the following subgroups:- Family: Elephantidae
Range and Habitat:
Elephants can be found in central and south Africa and in southeast Asia. African elephants formerly inhabited a range that included areas south of the Sahara Desert extending to the south tip of Africa and reaching from the west coast of Africa to the Indian Ocean, African elephants now are restricted to small pockets in southern Africa. Asian elephants inhabit India, Southeast Asia, Sumatra and Borneo. In the past, Asian elephants had a much wider range, from south of the Himalayas and China, north to the Yangtze River.References:
- Myers P. 2000. Proboscidea, Animal Diversity Web. November 16, 2008.
- Parker S. ed. 1990. Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Vol. 4. New York: McGraw-Hill. 648 p.
