African elephants and Asian elephants

When one says that an elephant is the largest land animal, one refers to the African elephant. Male African elephants grow up to the height of 12 ft to 15 ft and the female African elephants grow up to 9.8 ft tall. They are also heavier, compared to the Asiatic elephants, as African elephants weigh around 3,600 to 4,600 kg.

Though elephants are huge animals, their needs are minimal. All they need is plenty of food and water and a bit of privacy! African elephants live on the savannas and other dry woodlands. They also live in the Sahara desert, where there is scanty vegetation. You can also find African elephants in the grasslands or in dense rainforests, in countries like Congo. The other African countries where elephants are found are, Kenya, Zaire, Zimbabwe and Mauritania.

Asian elephants are smaller in size compared to African elephants. They weigh up to 500 kg and grow between 8 ft to 10 ft. Asian elephants are found in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, dry broadleaf forest as well as tropical deciduous forest, grasslands, mountains, tropical savanna and tropical rainforests. The Asian countries like Nepal, Burma, Thailand, India etc, which have the above ecosystems are lucky to be the homes of these elephants.


Elephants are one of those species of animals that can adapt to almost any habitat. Forests, woodlands, grassy plains, savanna, swamps and deserts are some of the ecosystems where they easily survive. Research on elephant history revealed that elephant fossils were found in all continents except for Antarctica and Australia. But now, elephants live mainly in Asia and Africa. In Africa, they are found mainly in the Southern regions. Due to poaching, the number of elephants has decreased alarmingly, largely in West Africa, and in lesser proportions in North and East Africa.

As we all know, elephants are herbivores. The diet of the African elephant is similar to the diet of the Asian elephant. Asian elephants feed on bamboo as it is found abundantly, while the African elephants generally feed on fruits and shrubs. Talking about how much they can eat, well, elephants eat about 149 to 169 kg of food daily. Besides fruits and leaves, elephants can also consume tree barks, bushes, roots, grass and small plants. Tree bark is their favorite food and it is also beneficial to them as it contains calcium and roughage.