African Bush Elephant

The african bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) is a species of african elephant which is also known as the bush elephant or the savanna elephant.  It is bigger than the african forest elephant.  It is rated as vulnerable in by IUCN.


Physical Features                                  These elephants have muscular trunks
The african bush elephant stands about 8 to11 feet and weighs 6000 kilograms to 9000 kilograms.  Males are bigger than females.They have smoother foreheads than asian elephants.  Their big ears cover their shoulder.  They have three toes in the back leg, but the front legs, can have four or five.  Normally, the tusks are well developed in both males and females.  From trunk to tail, african bush elephants have a length of 24 feet.  The biggest african bush elephant was shot in 1965.  It weighed about 12,000 kilograms and stood 13.5 feet tall.


Diet
The diet of these elephants vary depending upon the habitat.   Elephants living in grasslands, savannas and forests eat shrubs, trees and different type of herbs.  African bush elephants living near Lake Kariba have been known to eat underwater plants.  They consume about 150 kilograms of vegetation everyday and drink upto 190 liters of water.


Distribution
The african bush elephant once roamed across Africa in several millions.  Now, they are found in southern and eastern Africa.  The highest numbers of these elephants are in Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.


Source of picture 1:http://listsoplenty.com/blog/?p=10165
Source of picture 2:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikelhendriks/4162101075/