When you have got an elephant by the hind legs and he is trying to run away, it’s best to let him run.”

Abraham Lincoln, Politician

All Elephant Facts & Stats you need to know

Elephants are quite interesting and fascinating animals.

However, quite little is actually known by the general public about these fascinating creatures.

In this article, all facts and stats you have to know about elephants are shown.

List of the most interesting Elephant Stats and Facts

  • Elephants are the planet’s largest land animals.
  • Elephants can reach a size of up to 21 feet (6,5 meters).
  • Their shoulder height can reach up to 11 feet (3,3 meters).
  • The brain of an elephant weighs up to 11 pounds (5 kg). Elephants have the heaviest brains of all land animals on our planet.
  • There are only three main species of elephants, the Asian Elephant, the African Bush Elephant and the African Forest Elephant.
  • While the African Bush Elephant can reach up to 6 tons, the Asian Elephant usually will not weigh more than 5 tons. The African Forest Elephants, which is by far the smallest elephant species, will usually not reach more than 2 tons.
  • Newborn elephant calves can weigh more than 220 pounds (100 kg).
  • Baby elephants are almost blind at the beginning of their life.
  • The African Bush Elephant has much bigger ears than the Asian Elephant.
  • African Elephants are also bigger in general compared to Asian Elephants.
  • A baby elephant is called a calf.
  • Elephants can be quite aggressive if they feel threatened. Especially when they have calves, it can be quite dangerous for humans to approach them.
  • While female elephants are most aggressive to protect their calves, male elephants tend to be most aggressive in times of mate selection, in which their testosterone levels skyrocket.
  • Elephants are quite intelligent animals. Apart from great apes, they are considered one of the most intelligent animals populating our planet.
  • They mainly feed on grasses, leaves and fruits. A grownup elephant can eat up to 330 pounds (150 kg) of leaves per day.
  • Elephants can drink up to 50 gallons (190 liters) of water every day.
  • Elephants are considered to be the largest land mammal on our planet.
  • Elephants will only give birth a few times a decade.
  • The gestation period of an elephant is one of the longest of all animals on our planet. It can take up to 22 months.
  • Young elephants may suckle not just a few months, but even up to a few years. Poor mother elephant 😉.
  • The average tusk of an elephant is around 6 feet long (1.8 meters) and weighs 50 pounds (23 kg) on average.
  • Elephants use their tusks for fighting purposes, but also to search for food and to dig for water.
  • Elephants often show excellent learning capabilities when they are tested in studies.
  • They are considered to be quite social animals which often even help other animals which are in dangerous situations.
  • Female elephants will never leave a herd voluntarily. They usually stay together in groups until the end of their life.
  • While female elephants are quite social and live in groups, male elephants are rather solitary.
  • Elephants take care of injured members of their herd.
  • Similar to humans, there are also homosexual elephants.
  • Contrary to many beliefs, elephants actually don’t like peanuts.
  • An elephant’s trunk can weigh up to 300 pounds (136 kg) and can reach a length of around 7 feet (2.1 meters).
  • The trunk of an elephant can consist of over 100,000 muscles.
  • Elephants are quite hard workers and can walk up to 16 hours a day in order to collect food.

Sources

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/african-elephant/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant

https://www.britannica.com/animal/elephant-mammal

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

Wanna make a contribution to save our environment? Share it!

Pin It on Pinterest