African Elephant

African Elephants are the elephants of the genus Loxodonta (Greek for 'oblique-sided tooth'), consisting of two extant species: the African bush elephant and the smaller African forest elephant. Loxodonta is one of the two existing genera in the family Elephantidae.

Description
One of the species of African elephant, the bush elephant, is the largest living terrestrial animal, while the forest elephant is the third largest. Their thickset bodies rest on stocky legs, and they have concave backs. Their large ears enable heat loss. The upper lip and nose form a trunk. The trunk acts as a fifth limb, a sound amplifier and an important method of touch. African elephants' trunks end in two opposing lips, whereas the Asian elephant trunk ends in a single lip. In L. africana, males stand 3.2–4.0 m (10–13 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 4,700–6,048 kg (10,360–13,330 lb), while females stand 2.2–2.6 m (7–9 ft) tall and weigh 2,160–3,232 kg (4,762–7,125 lb); L. cyclotis is smaller with male shoulder heights of up to 2.5 m (8 ft).

Distribution
African Elephants can be found in Eastern, Southern and West Africa, either in dense forests, mopane and miombo woodlands, Sahelian scrub or deserts.

Behavior
It lives in the savannah biome and loves to swim in water, so it's recommended to have lot's of it, deep if possible. If you can afford it, get multiple, as they prefer to be in herds. African Elephants are social creatures, and will often interact with other members of their species by stroking them with their trunks. When a calf is born, other family and herd members(and sometimes others not even in the family/herd) will run over and greet it. Males will sometimes act agressivly to each other and fight.

Preferred Objects

 * Shelter: Large Animal House
 * Enrichment: Swinging Log, Elephant Tree
 * Animal Food: Hay, Grass, Leaves