Loxodonta africana - African Elephant (Species)

References
Species Authors & Referees	Editor: Dr Debra Bourne MA VetMB PhD MRCVS (V.w5)
ORGANISATIONS	The 2000 Red List of Threatened Species Elephant Care International
ELECTRONIC LIBRARY (Further Reading)	Elephants and their Diseases: A Treatise on Elephants Practical Elephant Management - A Handbook for Mahouts AZA Standards For Elephant Management And Care American Zoo and Aquarium Association Minimum Husbandry Guidelines for Mammals- Elephants *Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Zoo Animals- Elephants (Loxodonta africana,* Elephas maximus) Elephant Managers Association Guidelines for Elephant Management and Care Standard Guidelines For Elephant Management Transport Guidelines For Elephants Handbook Elephants- Nutrition And Dietary Husbandry Elephants and their Diseases**

Species Authors & Referees

Editor: Dr Debra Bourne MA VetMB PhD MRCVS (V.w5)

ORGANISATIONS

ELECTRONIC LIBRARY
(Further Reading)

Life Stages

EDITORIAL SUMMARY

The following editorial comment summarises detailed information given within the LITERATURE REPORTS. Links to the LITERATURE REPORTS are provided at the bottom of this box.

BREEDING SEASON: Mating may occur in all months, but even on the equator there are breeding peaks, generally during the rainy season. Such peaks may be associated with better nutrition and protein intake with the growth of new grass promoted by the rains.

OESTRUS/OVULATION/FERTILITY: Female African elephants are polyoestrous and monovular (produce a single egg at any one oestrus). There are several sterile oestrus cycles prior to ovulation and conception. Oestrus lasts two to six days, possibly up to ten days. It is generally stated that the oestrus cycle is about three weeks long with a series of cycles lasting for about two months; a cycle of about 16 days has been recorded in captive elephants while a study of elephants in Amboseli found that if a female failed to conceive the next heat occurred about three months later. Recent studies on hormone levels have shown that the cycle is about 14 to 16 weeks long. Following calving, there may be a lactational anoestrus, (i.e. the female does not come into oestrus while she is lactating); this may last until the calf is about two years old. Females may be most fertile from about 25 years old and show declining fertility after about 40 or 45 years old, although even cows over fifty may produce calves. Conception rates may be reduced with poor nutrition, as seen in drought conditions.

GESTATION/PREGNANCY: Gestation generally lasts about 22 months; from zoo data a gestation length averaging 660 days has been determined while the average in one wild population (Amboseli) was 656 days.

PARTURITION/BIRTH: The cow may or may not separate from her group before giving birth. Other females often gather around the calving cow. The cow is restless before the birth and may scrape the ground (the effect is to remove twigs and pebbles from the area where she is standing, although opinions differ as to whether this is deliberate). Usually, the birth itself is quick, although a labour of four hours has been observed in the wild. In a watched birth of twins in the wild, the calves were born twenty minutes apart. The umbilical cord ruptures as the calf drops to the floor. The fetal membranes are removed by the mother and/or other females, not always gently, and the mother (and sometimes other females) encourages and assists the calf to stand, using feet, trunk and tusks.

Seasonality: Births may occur all year but there is generally a peak in births just before the peak of the rains. This timing allows good lactation (due to the growing grass) as well as providing cover and cool conditions for the very young calf.

NEONATAL/DEVELOPMENT:

Elephant calves are precocial; they attempt to stand almost immediately and may stand after a period of a few minutes to an hour or more (about thirty minutes may be average). Once on their feet they search for the nipples and suckle using their mouth (NOT the trunk).
The ears are tight against the head at birth.
Male calves generally grow faster than do female calves; from 0.85 m at birth the calf may reach 1.1 - 1.5 m by one year old. Hand-reared calves grow more slowly than do mother-reared calves, but calves in captivity may grow faster after weaning than do wild calves, due to better nutrition and reduced parasitism.
The first cheek tooth cuts the gum when the calf is about six weeks old and is lost at one to two years.
Calves suckle frequently, every hour or less, for about 1.5 minutes at a time. Suckling becomes less frequent when the calf is about six months old. They continue suckling to at least two years old, and rarely survive if they lose their mother before this age. Calves may still suckle at three and a half or four years or even older.
Calves start to play with vegetation very early, and may investigate and sample food from their mother's mouth, but only start to actually swallow some grass at about four months. They are eating a significant amount of vegetation by six months and by two years they spend as much of their time eating as the adults do. They can manipulate sizeable branches by about six to ten years of age.
Calves first start to drink water with their trunks from about three months old.
Calves may initially have poor trunk control and may be shaky on their legs for the first few days, but can move with the herd usually from about two days old. Calves remain very close to their mother for about the first six months, then begin to move further away, to explore and to play with other calves. Young calves play vigorously with bouts lasting 30 to 50 seconds; older juveniles play less. Play includes chases, rolling over each other, mock fights, gambolling and mounting one another.

LITTER SIZE: There is usually one calf but about 1% of pregnancies may produce twins.

TIME BETWEEN LITTERS / LITTERS PER YEAR: The minimum possible calving interval is about two years, however there may be a lactational anoestrus, (i.e. the female does not come into oestrus while she is lactating) while the calf is suckling, increasing the inter-birth period to three or four years (less if the calf dies and suckling stops) . Longer inter-calf intervals may occur in conditions of poor nutrition or overcrowding, giving inter-calf intervals of sever years or longer.

LACTATION / MILK PRODUCTION: Calves are generally basically weaned by about two years old; lactation may continue during the next pregnancy but ceases before parturition with the mammary glands then developing visibly again about seven weeks before calving. Elephant milk is considered to be moderate in its contents of dry matter, fat, protein and carbohydrate.

SEXUAL MATURITY: In optimum conditions, elephants may become sexually mature at about 10 or 11 years old. Both nutritional and social factors may affect sexual maturity, so that puberty may be delayed to about 16 - 18 years of age in drought conditions or in an overcrowded population. Males, although they may be producing sperm at as young as 10 - 13 years, are unlikely to be able to compete successfully with other males and actually mate a female under about 20 years of age.

MALE SEASONAL VARIATION: There does not appear to be any male reproductive seasonality in term of spermatogenesis. [For a discussion of musth see African Elephant Loxodonta africana - Sexual Behaviour (Literature Reports)]

LONGEVITY / MORTALITY: Wild elephants may reach about 60 years of age; in captivity this might be extended to as long as 80 years. Recent data from one study suggested that calf survival to one year may be as high as 95%, although other studies have reported mortality rates as high as 10% or even 36%. Twins are rarely raised successfully. Survival may be higher for calves which have "allomothers" or "aunties". After weaning, the mortality rate may be about 5.1 - 6.6% per year to about 50 years. Mortality then rises sharply as the last molar is used up, with deaths generally occurring during the dry season since dry food cannot be effectively sheared by the remaining, smooth, grinding surface. In drought years mortality is increased; the effect on animals of different age classes may vary; bull calves, with higher growth rates and nutritional needs, are more likely to die during drought than are female calves. Deaths during drought are often from starvation rather than dehydration, with elephants, reluctant to leave a known water source, running out of vegetation in the local area. The greatest vulnerability to predation by lions, hyenas and hunting dogs is just after birth, and also when the calf starts to stray further from its mother at about six months old. As well as natural predation, elephants may die from hunting, poisoning due to eating toxic plants, disease, accidents, starvation, drowning, heat stress, and congenital malformation; snake bite is another possible cause of death.

(References are available in detailed literature reports below)

CLICK THE LINKS FOR Literature Reports

Literature Reports: African Elephant Loxodonta africana - Life Stages

General Appearance
Adult: The largest land mammal, the African elephant or savanna elephant has a rotund body, grey or brownish nearly hairless skin, huge, fan-like ears and the nose and lip are elongated into a prehensile trunk reaching to the ground. (B390) The legs are thick and pillar-like with shock-absorbing feet which have isolated nails around the rim of the foot. The ears are large and fan-like, the neck is short, there is a small mouth situated ventral to the trunk, relatively small eyes and tusks (elongated incisors). There is a tuft of hair on the end of the tail. Hairs may be found on the hear, back and ears and are more prominent in calves and juveniles than in adults. In healthy elephants the skin is fairly smooth and supple. The body is "rounded out" in healthy individuals. The male lacks an external scrotum while the female has mammary glands behind the front legs. (B453.1.w1) Newborn: Newborn: Newborn elephants are similar to adults but have more hair, wrinkly skin, a shorter trunk and a relatively small head with ears pressed close against the head at birth. (B453.1.w1, B453.2.w2, B453.6.w6, B453.9.w9)
Similar Species	African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants Elephas maximus - Asian Elephant by: The highest point on the animal is usually the shoulders, not the head; The back is concave, being highest at the shoulders and hips, while that of the Asian elephant is convex or straight. Larger size and leaner, with longer legs; A low, rounded forehead; in profile, the head appears triangular, due to the forehead sloping, (not appearing square, as seen in the Asian elephant due to the bulging forehead); Larger ears, which are placed with the top in line with, or higher than, the top of the head; Two (dorsal and ventral) finger-like processes on the trunk tip, rather than one; Females as well as males often have tusks. 21 not 19 pairs of ribs and a maximum of 26 not 33 caudal vertebrae. They have a convex rather than flat forehead and (B147, B285.w3, B384.3.w3, B451.1.w1) The African savanna elephant is larger than Loxodonta cyclotis - Forest Elephant, averaging more than 2.40 m (8.0 ft) at the shoulder. Its ears are larger and more triangular, less rounded, the apex lying anterior to the elbow joint in adult elephants at rest. Its tusks thicker, usually more curved, and of the "soft" type of ivory, very sparse body hair and a high head carriage, the back having a "sway-backed" profile. There are distinct differences in skull morphology. (B453.Intro.w13, J22.293.w1)
Sexual Dimorphism	Bulls have a wider forehead than do cows, with a smoothly curved profile (this is more angular in cows, with a slight frontal prominence), tusks which are thicker in proportion to length, a more distinct "sway-backed" appearance and a generally heavier build. (B453.1.w1, B453.Intro.w13) Cows can also be distinguished by the presence of mammary glands just behind the front legs. (B453.Intro.w13)

Husbandry Information
Notes	Detailed information is available for this species from: Elephant Disease Management FLOWCHART
Management Techniques	Elephants and their Diseases: A Treatise on Elephants Practical Elephant Management - A Handbook for Mahouts AZA Standards For Elephant Management And Care American Zoo and Aquarium Association Minimum Husbandry Guidelines for Mammals- Elephants *Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Zoo Animals- Elephants (Loxodonta africana,* Elephas maximus) Elephant Managers Association Guidelines for Elephant Management and Care Standard Guidelines For Elephant Management Transport Guidelines For Elephants Handbook Elephants- Nutrition And Dietary Husbandry**