In Touch With Nature – the difference between African and Asian Elephants #Elephants #wildlife
Posted: August 28, 2024 Filed under: Africa, Animals, In Touch With Nature, Nature, Wildlife | Tags: African Wildlife, Elephants, In Touch With Nature, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, South Africa, Writing to be Read 49 Comments
A couple of years ago, my family visited an elephant sanctuary near the Cradle of Humankind. For those of you who don’t know the Cradle of Humankind, it is an area in South Africa where many fossils, tools, and other traces of early humans have been found.
We also visited the Sterkfontein Caves where the 2.3 million year old fossil of Mrs Ples is on display, but this post is about the elephants.
We participated in a guided tour of the elephant sanctuary and one of the discussions with the guide revolved around the differences between African and Asian elephants. I thought it was quite interesting.
The above photograph is of African elephants. There are two species of African elephants, the larger being the African bush elephant (or African savannah elephant) which is the one I’m most familiar with, and the smaller being the African forest elephant. The above picture is of African savannah elephants.
Can you spot the differences. They are as follows:
Size: African elephants are much bigger than Asian elephants. African savannah elephants weigh approximately 8,000 kg or 9 tons and are between 3 and 4 metres tall (10 and 13 feet) at the shoulder. Asian elephants weigh approximately 5,500 kg or 6 tons and are not taller than 3,5 metres at the shoulder.
Ears: African elephants have much bigger ears and they are shaped like the continent of Africa. Asian elephants have smaller, round ears. African elephants have larger ears because they dissipate heat through their ears and Africa is hotter than Asia.
Head shape: African elephants have rounded heads and Asian elephants have a twin-domed head.
Tusks: Both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only Asian male elephants have them. Not all elephants grow tusks.
A lot of people have romanticised ideas about elephants and think they are cute like Dumbo. This is not true. African elephants are very territorial and highly protective of their young. They can be exceptionally dangerous. I wrote a poem about this recently which you can read here: https://roberta-writes.com/2024/08/17/roberta-writes-song-parody-for-dverse-open-link-night-dverse-elephants-poetry-art/
Elephants playing in the river at Madikwe (this is at Thakadu Tented Camp)
A very grubby elephant (taken at Makikwe Game Reserve – Madikwe Hills Lodge)
I adore this video of a herd of elephants walking in line:
About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).
Roberta is also the author and illustrator of sixteen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of three poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.
Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertaEaton17
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5
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Thanks for this great info. I have only seen Asian elephants and they were plenty big enough. Amazing creatures.
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Hi Darlene, I have never seen a real Asian elephant so we are exact opposites. I know they are smaller.
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That was interesting information and I liked the videos. I knew about the three types of elephants, the African Savannah Elephant, African Forest Elephant, and the Asian Elephant, but I did not know the details, and I never paid attention to the differences of their heads. Now I do know the differences. The African Savannah Elephant is certainly majestic.
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Fascinating information, Robbie! I was especially taken by the fact that African elephants’ ears are shaped like the continent they live on!
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Thanks Robbie for featuring the elephants after I was asking about them before. When you look at them closely they are amazing, prehistoric looking and the ears astonishing. I imagine that the elephants we have seen in zoos and certainly in circuses were Asian elephants.
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another lovely post and I remember the poem and the angry elephant trying to push over a truck with people in it 💜💜
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Thank you for all the info, Robbie! I knew about the ears, but that’s it. I love the video of the elephants walking with their babies. 💙
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Elephants are magnificent creatures. Thanks for this educational post.
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Their ears give them away!
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Yes, and their size.
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Love me some Ellies!
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Thank you, Annette.
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A very informative post, Robbie. Is the place where you’re going where the elephants are protected? They are such beautiful animals. It would be sad if they go extinct! Are elephants mammals? The video of the elephant family is amazing. Thanks.
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HI Kay, yes, we are going to a National Game Reserve. The same one where the elephant video was taken. Elephants in South Africa are not currently at risk of extinction. In fact, we have more than our parks can really deal with as they have massive appetites and need a lot of space to roam. Elephants are mammals and their babies are born live. They are the cutest little things imaginable. My next children’s book is about elephants.
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That will be a fun book.
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Thank you
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Thanks, as always, for the informative and well illustrated post. (K)
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My pleasure, KErfe. I am painting an A1 acrylic elephant. It is set in the autumn and I love the background of reddish golden grass.
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Wonderful pictures and the video of the elephants walking with their little ones was amazing.
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HI Edward, I am so pleased you enjoyed this post. Elephants and giraffes are favourite animals of mine.
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I often used these two species when I was teaching children to write compare and contrast essays.
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HI Pete, that is wonderful to know.
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[…] https://writingtoberead.com/2024/08/28/in-touch-with-nature-the-difference-between-african-and-asian… […]
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I learned something today 🙂 I didn’t know all those differences of the types of elephants. Robbie does a great job of explaining natural species while including videos (or poems or paintings).
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HI Dave, I’m really pleased you enjoy this series and my discussions about animals. I try to make them interesting and not to long. Just a few fascinating bits of information and some pictures and videos.
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Great pictures and really interesting information. I love elephants and I have met a couple of baby elephants and they were hugely adorable. I also know that they are wild and WAY bigger than me. Big animals sometimes don’t seem to recognize that we are there at all.
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Hi Marilyn, I’m glad you enjoyed this post. Elephants are lovely BUT they always know you are there. I can see them watching us. They are very intelligent.
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I’m always learning from Robbie.
This is a terrific post, and it’s so great that you host this Nature Series.
I know you have hosr=ted more than nature bey Robbie, and it is all wonderful.
Thank you, Kaye Lynne!
Thank you, Robbie!
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I am pleased to have Robbie on my blog team, for all of her series offered here. Thanks for visiting frequently and taking the time to read, Resa. I’m always learning something new from her posts, too. ☺️
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Robbie is a great and intelligent person to have on your team.
Thank you!
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☺️
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Thank you, both
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❤
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Thank you, Kaye
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Hi Resa, our wildlife is my passion. It inspires much of my creativity. I’m delighted when readers enjoy these nature posts.
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I really enjoyed this, Robbie.
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HI Jennie, I am delighted to know that.
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😀
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Thanks, Robbie, for sharing your knowledge of elephants. I remember learning about the difference in ears and size a long time ago, but didn’t know most of the other facts. Great photos and video, my friend. Enjoy your safari, and thanks for hosting Kaye Lynne.
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🙂
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Hi Diana, I’m pleased you enjoyed this post. Elephants are so beautiful and intelligent too.
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They’re amazing. Magical, almost, to those of us who’ve never seen them roaming the wild. I’m glad they’re still around.
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So am I. Elephants are fairly plentiful now as they have responded well to the breeding programmes and have no natural enemies (other than man). Other creatures, like poor cheetahs, are eaten by many other predators and are diminishing in numbers.
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Wonderful post!
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Thank you, Dawn.
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I love the elephants walking with their babies in a little parade!
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I know, they are adorable. I read last night that the Zimbabwean government is culling 200 elephants for food. There is a drought so the crops failed. Where is Greenpeace? They should arrange food aid and not let the people resort to eating the limited wildlife.
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As much money as the US government wastes, we could surely send these people some food.
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Yes, I would think so. It is a great tragedy.
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