African Game Animals ~ Elephant

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Elephant:

Elephantidae (the elephants ) is the only extant family in the order Proboscidea. Elephantidae has three living species: the Savannah Elephant and Forest Elephant (which were collectively known as the African Elephant) and the Asian Elephant (formerly known as the Indian Elephant). During the period of the ice age there were more species, which are now extinct.

Prehistoric human beings have been known to eat elephants, as recent findings of animal remains in central China show. The elephant is now a protected animal, and consumption is prohibited around the world.

Elephants are the largest living land mammals. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 100 kg (225 pounds). It takes 20 to 22 months for a baby elephant to mature to birth, the longest gestation period of any land animal. An elephant may live as long as 60 to 70 years. The largest elephant ever recorded was a male shot in Angola in 1974, weighing 12 000 kilograms or 26 400 pounds.