How much does a baby elephant weigh at birth: interesting facts about elephants, approximate weight by month

The largest living land mammals are elephants. It is not surprising that many people wonder: how many kilograms does an elephant weigh?

Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to give an exact answer to such a vague question: each individual elephant, like any other animal, has individual physical parameters, the weight of an adult elephant is very different from the weight of a baby elephant, female elephants are much smaller and lighter than males, and Besides, elephants come in different breeds.

However, below we will try to give the most comprehensive answer to this interesting question.

a brief description of

The elephant is the largest land animal on our planet, known for its love of water and its enormous size. Representatives of this species live in tropical latitudes, for example, in India and on the African continent. However, sometimes they can be found in other regions: they often become performers in the circus, because they are easy to train, understand commands well and are considered very smart animals.

Before we talk about how much a baby elephant weighs at birth, it is necessary to characterize this species as a whole. We should start with a description of the multifunctional trunk, consisting of hundreds of thousands of muscles. With the help of this organ, animals breathe, make sounds, smell various objects, drink water and, using a small appendage at the end of the trunk, pick up all sorts of little things. Elephants are hunted for their valuable tusks, but this is illegal.

They lead a herd lifestyle, and all members of the herd are related by blood ties. Together they take care of the young. It is known that elephants even know how to greet each other. Loyalty to the herd remains throughout life. This is also evident in the fact that if one of the family members dies, elephants become sad. At the head of the herd is the oldest and smartest female.

The lifespan of elephants is approximately seventy years. Animals feed on tree bark, grass, roots and fruits. The amount of food consumed reaches 136 kg per day. Moreover, each individual drinks 100-300 liters of water daily. Do these numbers surprise you? Be prepared to be even more shocked when you find out how much a baby elephant weighs at birth. We will talk about this a little later.

African elephant: description

African elephants are chordates and represent the order Proboscis and the family Elephantidae, as well as the genus African elephant. Among other things, African elephants consist of 2 subspecies: forest and savannah. Numerous studies point to the fact that elephants appeared on our Planet not so long ago (relatively, of course). This concept recently fits into a time period of some 5 million years. According to many scientists, the ancestors of elephants lived mainly in the water element, so the basis of their diet was aquatic vegetation.

Meriteria, which lived on our Planet about 55 million years ago, are the real ancestors of elephants. At least, this is what scientists think, since they discovered certain types of remains in Egypt. These remains were not impressive in size, since they were comparable to the size of a wild boar. Meriteria was distinguished by short but well-developed jaws, as well as the presence of a small trunk. The trunk was formed by the fusion of the nose and upper lip, which allowed the mammal to move through the water without much effort. The appearance of the animal was similar to a small hippopotamus. Experts have named the new species of animals paleomastodons.

The age of elephants is believed to have begun in the Upper Eocene, as evidenced by remains found in what is now Egypt. It should be noted that the size of these remains was larger than the remains of the Meryterium, as was the size of the trunk. The paleomastodon is considered the ancestor of the mastodon, and mastodons are considered the ancestors of mammoths. The last mammoths lived on Wrangel Island for approximately 3 and a half thousand years.

According to scientists, at one time about 160 species of proboscis mammals became extinct on our Planet. Among this multitude there were some whose dimensions were simply amazing, and their weight was about 20 tons. Nowadays, elephants are very rare animals, which are combined into 2 species: African elephants and Indian elephants.

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Appearance and features

African elephants are characterized by very impressive sizes, and they are also larger than Indian elephants. The height of the animal reaches almost 5 meters, with a weight of at least 6 tons. Sexual dimorphism is expressed by the fact that female individuals are much smaller and have less weight. It is known that African elephants can reach a height of almost 7 meters and gain weight of about 12 tons.

On a note! The African elephant has quite large ears, which are 2 times larger than the ears of the Indian elephant. By flapping their huge ears, these animals escape the African heat. Their length can be 2 meters, which helps animals effectively reduce their body temperature.

These animals have a massive, large body, while the tail is quite small, a little more than 1 meter in length. The head is just as massive, set on a short neck. Elephants' limbs are thick and powerful, ending with soles of a unique structure, which allows animals to easily move both on sandy and hard surfaces. When walking, the area of ​​the soles may decrease or increase. Elephants have 4 toes on their front limbs and 3 on their hind limbs.

African elephants are also unique in that among them, like among people, there are both right-handers and left-handers, which can be easily determined by which tusk the elephant uses more often. Sparse hairs grow on the elephant's body, and the skin color is characterized as dark gray. The skin has a lot of wrinkles, and it is quite rough. Despite this, elephants' skin is quite sensitive and vulnerable to direct sunlight. Protection from direct sunlight comes down to the fact that elephants sprinkle themselves with either sand or mud, and females hide their cubs in the shadow of their body.

The older the elephant, the less hair remains on its body, so old elephants are devoid of hair, with the exception of a tuft on the tail. An elephant's trunk is about 2 meters long and weighs about 135 kg. An elephant's trunk is like a universal tool with many functions. An elephant, with the help of its trunk, can simply pick small grass, can pour water on itself, breathe through its trunk, and also move very heavy objects.

With this versatile tool, elephants are able to lift weights of more than 200 kilograms. Elephants have large and powerful tusks, up to 2 and a half meters long and weighing about 70 kilograms. Tusks grow throughout life, so the older the elephant, the more tusks it has, while African elephants have tusks in both males and females.

Where does the African elephant live?

In the past, the number of African elephants was much larger, and their habitat was much wider. Gradually, the habitat of elephants was reduced for a number of reasons: elephants were hunted for their tusks, and new lands were developed, which forced elephants to look for more comfortable territories for their livelihoods. In addition, natural habitat destruction has constantly occurred and continues to occur. Nowadays, the bulk of elephants live in national parks and reserves.

Elephants mainly live in the following areas:

• Kenya.
• Tanzania.
• Congo.
• Namibia.
• Senegal.
• Zimbabwe.

For their livelihoods, elephants choose areas covered with forests, forest-steppe areas, mountain foothills, swampy rivers, and savannas. It is very important that on their territory there is a pond and forest plantings that provide shelter from direct sunlight. The southern territories bordering the Sahara Desert are considered the main areas where African elephants live.

In past times, the proboscis family occupied vast territories, measuring 30 million square kilometers. Currently, this area has decreased by almost 6 times. African elephants do not live their entire lives in one territory, as they have to travel vast distances in search of food and also to escape extreme heat.

What does the African elephant eat?

Elephants, despite their enormous size, prefer to eat exclusively plant foods. For one day, such a large animal needs up to 3 tons of food. In this regard, elephants eat almost constantly, for 16 hours a day, with males eating more than females. In addition, elephants need several hours a day to find food items. For some reason, it is believed that elephants simply adore peanuts. Being in captivity, they have to eat everything they are given, so they also eat peanuts. Living in natural conditions, elephants do not specifically look for peanuts and are practically indifferent to them.

It is important to know! The diet of elephants is based on young shoots of plants and succulent grass, plant roots, branches of bushes, as well as other food components of plant origin. When there is enough moisture, they try to eat juicy greens, in the form of papyrus and cattails. Individuals whose teeth have lost their natural sharpness feed on plants growing in wetlands, since roughage is no longer suitable for them.

Forest elephants eat fruit in large quantities, and in search of food, elephants often enter farmland, destroying the fruits of cultivated plants. Since elephants need a lot of food, they cause significant damage to farmland.

After reaching 2 years of age, elephant calves begin to include plant foods in their diet, and after another year they completely switch to eating plant foods. To replenish their bodies with minerals, elephants lick salt licks, digging them out from under the ground. In addition, for normal life, these animals need water, at the rate of about 200 liters per adult elephant. When there is a period of drought, elephants dig large holes in river beds to collect water. To provide themselves with food, elephants are able to migrate long distances.

Behavior and lifestyle

Elephants are social animals that prefer to live in small groups, which can include up to 2 dozen adults. In the old days, when elephant numbers were high, such groups consisted of hundreds of individuals. If it is necessary to migrate in search of food, then small groups of elephants form larger herds.

It is important to know! The herd is usually headed by the oldest and smartest female, and sometimes she has to compete with other females for primacy. In case of death, the next oldest female takes the place of the leader.

All members of the group or herd strictly obey the main female. The group also consists of young, sexually mature, as well as immature females, including immature males. Having reached 10 years of age, males have to leave the herd. For some time they prefer to be close to their family, but then they separate and begin to lead a solitary lifestyle or form separate groups consisting of only males.

Elephants in their groups do not sort things out among themselves, so you can observe how elephants treat each other kindly and are also patient with their offspring. They are always ready to help, and also support weak or sick relatives. Scientists have determined that elephants can show some emotions, so such animals can be bored, sad, upset and happy.

Elephants have poor eyesight, but they have a highly developed sense of smell and hearing. According to experts, elephants are able to “hear with their feet.” This is possible due to the presence of supersensitive areas on the soles of the animal that detect various types of vibrations and determine their direction.

In addition, elephants:

• They are excellent swimmers and love water activities.
• As part of a group, they adhere to a certain territory.
• They communicate with each other by making trumpet sounds.

Elephants are also animals that sleep very little, as they only sleep for 3 hours a day. If elephants sleep, it is only while standing, forming a closed circle, with their heads directed towards the center of the circle.

Reproduction and offspring

Depending on living conditions, males and females reach sexual maturity at different periods of time. On average, males are ready to breed at 15 years old, and females a little earlier. For the right to fertilize females, males have to engage in fights, after which they are left with serious injuries. Elephants groom each other very beautifully. After the formation of a pair, the male and female move some distance away from the group, while they hug each other with their trunks, thereby expressing mutual sympathy and tenderness.

Elephants breed at any time of the year, so they do not have a mating season typical of other animals. After fertilization, the female carries her offspring for 22 months. During this period, the rest of the elephants help the pregnant female as best they can. After the birth of the calf, all members of the family will raise it, taking on part of the care of the elephant.

Before the birth process, the female elephant leaves the herd in search of a suitable place, while she is accompanied by another female, who is called the “midwife”. As a rule, only one baby elephant is born. The weight of a newborn can be as much as 100 kilograms with a height of about 1 meter. Elephant calves are born with a small proboscis and without tusks. Half an hour after birth, the cub gets to its feet.

Interesting moment! The cubs stay with their mother until they are 5 years old. Elephant calves feed on mother's milk as the main source of food during the first two years of their existence.

After this, the baby elephants gradually begin to get used to plant foods. An elephant becomes pregnant no more than once every 3-9 years, and even at the age of 60 she can bear offspring.

Natural enemies

Living in their natural environment, adult elephants have virtually no natural enemies, and this is not at all surprising, since elephants are huge and strong. As for young animals, as well as weak and sick individuals, they can become prey for predators such as cheetahs, leopards and lions.

Nowadays, it is man who is considered the main enemy of elephants, since he directly, due to expensive tusks, destroys these animals, and also indirectly, through the active development of new territories, causes significant harm to these animals, since they constantly have to migrate in search of new territories.

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Types of elephants

The classification of elephants is based on their habitats. The range of savannah and forest elephants is limited to the African continent. It is the savanna African elephant that is considered the largest representative of the species, but its brother is slightly smaller. Males are generally larger than females and reach large sizes, up to 7.5 meters in length and 2.5 meters in height. Moreover, the highest point of their body is in the shoulder area.

The dimensions of Indian elephants do not exceed 7 meters. The smallest representative of this species lives in the area of ​​the island of Kalimantan. The highest point on the body of an Indian elephant is located at the top of its head. There are several subspecies of Asian elephants:

• Ceylonese. Representatives of this subspecies live only on the island of Sri Lanka. 95% of individuals lack tusks.
• Sumatran. As can be understood from the name, the habitat of this animal is represented by an island called Sumatra. The body weight of adult individuals is only 2-4 tons, so you can guess for yourself how much a small elephant calf of this subspecies weighs: approximately 50-60 kilograms.
• The Borneo pygmy elephant is the smallest in the world. Its height reaches 2.5 meters, and its weight does not exceed 3 tons, and even then it is quite rare.

How much does an adult elephant weigh?

The weight of an adult elephant can reach more than twelve tons. However, such record holders are extremely rare. On average, the weight of an adult elephant ranges from 2.5-7 tons, with females weighing almost half as much as males.

It is interesting that with such an impressive weight, elephants are very graceful animals; the plasticity of their movements is truly impressive.

The expression “clumsy as an elephant” has nothing to do with reality; moreover, in many Eastern cultures, the elephant is a symbol of grace and grace.

The Russian public is accustomed to seeing elephants mainly in cages in zoos, where they are cramped and uncomfortable, apparently this is where the erroneous judgment came from. The behavior of elephants in the wild is a truly breathtaking sight; once you meet an elephant in its natural habitat, you will never again call this animal a clumsy lump.

Record holders

By how much a baby elephant weighs in kg, you can understand that these animals are real giants. But among them there are record holders. For example, in 1974, the Guinness Book of Records included information about the largest elephant, which weighed twelve tons! This mammal was shot dead in the last century in Angola. It was a representative of the savannah variety.

Currently, the record holder is occupied by an elephant named Yossi, who lives in the Safari Park, which is located within the city limits of Romat-Gan. With the help of a specially invited expert, it was found that the mammal’s weight is about 6 tons and its height is 3.7 meters. The length of the tail reaches a meter, and the size of the trunk exceeds 2.5 meters.

Elephant weight by species

The species African elephants (Loxodona) include Savannah elephants (Loxodontha africana), Forest elephant (Loxdonta syсlotis) and Dwarf elephant (Loxdonta creutzburgi). The species Indian elephants (Elephas) ​​is represented by the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus), the Cyprus dwarf elephant (Elephas cypriotes) and the Sicilian dwarf elephant (Elephas falsoneri). The forest straight-tusked elephant (Palaeolochodon antiquus) and many other species are also known.

African elephant weight

African elephants (Lohodonta) are a genus of mammals from Africa belonging to the order Proboscis. According to scientists, this genus is represented by two modern species: the savannah elephant (Loxodontа africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodontа syсlotis). According to the latest nuclear DNA studies, these two African species from the genus Lohodonta formed about 1.9 and 7.1 million years ago, but until relatively recently they were considered to be subspecies (Lohodonta africana africana and L. africana cyclotis). To date, the identification of a third species, the East African elephant, remains in question.

African elephants are deservedly the heaviest in weight . The average weight of a well-developed adult male can be 7.0-7.5 thousand kilograms, or about seven and a half tons. Such a significant mass of the animal is due to the height of the African elephant, which ranges between three and four meters at the withers, and sometimes a little higher. At the same time, Forest elephants are the smallest representatives of the family: the height of an adult individual rarely exceeds 2.5 meters, with a weight of 2500 kg or 2.5 tons. Representatives of the Savannah elephant subspecies, on the contrary, are the largest animals in the world. The average weight of a sexually mature male can be 5.0-5.5 tons or more, with an animal height of 2.5-3.5 meters.

This is interesting! The half a million African elephants currently in existence are one quarter of the Forest Elephant subspecies and about three quarters of the Savannah Elephant subspecies.

There are no land animals on the planet that could weigh even half the average body weight of an African elephant. Of course, the female of this species is somewhat smaller in size and weight, but sometimes it can be quite difficult to distinguish her from a sexually mature male. The average length of an adult female African elephant varies between 5.4-6.9 m, with a height of up to three meters. The weight of an adult female is about three tons.

Indian elephant weight

Asian elephants, or Indian elephants (lat. Elephas maximus) are mammals belonging to the order Proboscis. Currently, they are the only living species of the genus Asian elephant (Elephas) ​​and a representative of one of three living species belonging to the elephant family. Asian elephants are the second largest land animals after savannah elephants.

The size of the Indian or Asian elephant is very impressive. By the end of their lives, the oldest males reach a body weight of 5.4-5.5 tons, with an average height of 2.5-3.5 meters. The female of this species is noticeably smaller than the male, so the average weight of such an adult animal is only 2.7-2.8 tons. Among the smallest representatives of the order Proboscis and the species of Indian elephants in size and weight is a subspecies from the island territory of Kalimantan. The average weight of such an animal rarely exceeds 1.9-2.0 tons.

The large size and impressive body weight of Asian elephants is due to the feeding habits of such a mammal . All four modern subspecies of Asian elephants, including the Indian elephant (E. m. indicus), the Sri Lankan or Ceylon elephant (E. m. maximus), as well as the Sumatran elephant (E. m. sumatrensis) and the Bornean elephant (E. m .bornensis), absorb large amounts of food. Such elephants spend about twenty hours a day searching for and eating all kinds of food of plant origin. At the same time, one adult eats approximately 150-300 kilograms of herbaceous crops, bamboo and other vegetation per day.

The amount of feed eaten daily is approximately 6-8% of the total body weight of the mammal. In small quantities, elephants eat the bark, roots and foliage of plants, as well as fruits and flowers. Long grass, foliage and shoots are plucked by elephants using a flexible trunk. Grass that is too short is dug up using powerful kicks. The bark from branches that are too large is scraped off with the molars, while the branch itself is held by the trunk. Elephants readily destroy agricultural crops, including rice fields, bananas or sugar cane. That is why Indian elephants are classified as the largest agricultural “pests” in terms of size.

This is interesting! The total number of Asian elephant populations is currently relatively slowly but surely approaching critical levels, and today there are only about twenty-five thousand different-aged individuals of this species on our planet.

Some scientists and experts believe that Asian elephants owe their origin to stegodons, which is explained by their similar habitat. Stegodons belong to an extinct genus of proboscis mammals, and the main difference is the structure of the teeth, as well as the presence of a stronger, but more compact skeleton. Modern Indian elephants prefer to live in light tropical and subtropical deciduous forests with a dense undergrowth of shrubs and especially bamboo.

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Kids

How much does a baby elephant weigh at birth? Data on weight vary: according to some sources, 85-110 kg, and according to others, from 80 to 140 kg. At the same time, elephant calves of the forest variety are born the smallest: no more than 85 kilograms, but the African savannah elephant is already large at birth: its weight is at least a hundred kilograms.

Regardless of how much a born elephant calf weighs, within 2 hours after birth it is on its feet and can follow the herd, but, as a rule, the family sets off only after 3-4 days, when the elephant calf gets used to the world around it . Until the age of 10, the baby is carefully looked after, since only at this age does he reach sufficient size to be able to fend for himself. It is finally formed by the age of 20. The weight of an adult elephant is equal to the weight of 4 rhinoceroses or 4 giraffes.

African elephant conservation

Hunting these animals is strictly prohibited, so poaching entails considerable criminal costs. Nowadays, the African continent is characterized by the fact that numerous protected areas have been created here, where all conditions have been created for the life of many animals and elephants, in particular. According to experts, it takes about 3 decades to increase the herd size by a couple of dozen individuals. In 1980, the number of these animals was estimated at one and a half million individuals. In 2014, of these one and a half million, only 350 thousand remained, which is evidence of the active actions of poachers.

To preserve elephants as a species, these animals were listed in the International Red Book. By the way, China played a big role, since the authorities of this country refused to make crafts from ivory, as well as from other parts of the body. In the United States, 15 states, at the legal level, have refused to trade in such goods.

African elephants are distinguished by their enormous size, while they are characterized as calm and friendly towards everything around them. Despite the fact that elephants are not in danger of complete extinction, in the natural environment these animals are becoming less and less common.

Life cycle

Now it’s clear how much a baby elephant weighs after birth. The life cycle of an elephant can be roughly divided into several stages.

From the first days, babies begin to actively gain weight due to frequent feeding. In fact, these animals feed for about 2/3 of the day, that is, 16 hours daily. Until two years of age, they mainly consume their mother's milk, however, they quickly learn to use their trunk and pluck grass.

Until approximately 15 years of age, elephants remain in their herd, learning from the experience of older family members, after which the males are expelled and begin an independent life. Maturity occurs at the age of 20 years. Elephants are able to do heavy work until about 40 years of age, after which they are assigned lighter work within the herd.

Their teeth change three times. When the jaw wears out, elephants age and slowly die. As a rule, the life expectancy of elephants averages 70-80 years. At 65 years of age, they are considered the "old men" of their herd.

Population and species status

Although African elephants are not in danger of extinction, these animals are considered rare and critically endangered. The mid-19th century and early 20th century saw the most massive destruction of elephants by poachers. According to experts, poachers destroyed up to 100 thousand of these unique creatures. And all this is for the sake of their tusks, which are of particular value.

Piano keys made of ivory were especially prized. By killing an elephant, a person received a lot of meat, which allowed a large number of people to eat it for a long time. The remaining parts of the body were used in different ways, with hair being used, as well as tassels at the end of the tail.

Important point! After African elephants began to face complete extinction, the animal was listed in the International Red Book under the status of an “endangered species.” In 1988, a decision was made to completely ban elephant hunting.

Violations of this law were subject to criminal penalties. In addition, people began to take steps aimed at preserving the number of elephants and increasing it. As a result, reserves and national parks were organized in which elephants were protected. All conditions for reproduction in captivity were also created for them.

Thanks to common efforts, in 2004 the African elephant received a new, more encouraging status - “vulnerable species”. Nowadays, ecotourism is very popular, so people from all over the world visit the national parks of African countries. Here they enjoy watching the life of these amazing animals in their natural environment, albeit artificially created.

Approximate weight at different ages

The weight of a newborn elephant calf is approximately 80-110 kg. By the age of 20, they finally grow, after which the elephant’s body weight does not change. Knowing that on average adult individuals weigh 6-7 tons, you can calculate how many kilograms of weight are added monthly: approximately 25-30 kg.

Then, a month after birth, the baby will weigh 110-140, after six months - from 260 to 290 kg, and after a year - 440-470 kg. Agree, impressive size.

Facts about weight

There are several interesting facts about the size of elephants that will definitely surprise you:

• Asian elephants are the smallest of their kind, but even the females of this species have a stomach capacity of 76.6 liters. It weighs from 17 to 35 kilograms. Large African elephants have a stomach volume exceeding 60 liters, and its weight varies between 36-45 kilograms.
• The female’s liver also has the same dimensions. In males, the size of this organ is different: from 59 to 68 kilograms.
• The pancreas of an adult weighs about two kilograms. It is surprising that there is no information about any diseases that can cause disruption in the functioning of this organ.
• The average weight of the heart is 0.5% of the weight of a mammal, that is, from 12 to 21 kg.
• Elephants have big brains. Its mass exceeds the weight of the brain of any animal on the planet and reaches 6.5 kilograms.
• As you can already understand, all the organs of elephants are amazing in their size. Did you know that the average adult intestine is 35 meters long?

Tusks

Separately, it is necessary to mention the tusks. They grow throughout the elephant’s life, so their size determines the approximate age of the mammal. The largest tusk weighs 225 kg, and this is documented. In addition, with the help of tusks, you can determine whether a particular individual is right-handed or left-handed. How to do it? Take a closer look at the tusks: the one that looks more worn will indicate the correct answer. If you're wondering how much a baby elephant weighs when it's born, then know that newborn animals don't weigh too much because they don't have tusks yet.

More interesting facts

Other, no less interesting facts will be listed below. You've already read about how much a baby elephant weighs at birth, but did you know that elephants:

• They are considered one of the most intelligent representatives of the animal kingdom.
• They have a good memory. For example, they remember for a long time various places, important events, as well as people who treated them well or badly.
• Of all the known animals, only elephants cannot jump.
• Adults only need four hours of sleep a day.
• Not at first glance, they are clumsy; elephants can reach high speeds, reaching thirty kilometers per hour.

These were some amazing facts to know about elephants.