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Habitat Requirements for an African Elephant

As the biggest land mammal in the world, the African elephant can̵7;t just live anywhere ̵2; its habitat has to cater to its basic needs. There are two African elephant subspecies: the forest elephant, which lives in the woods of central and western Africa, and its larger cousin, the Savannah elephant, found across the continent̵7;s grasslands. Both African elephant subspecies have a number of requirements for a habitat to become its home.

Temperature and Shade
- African elephants can tolerate particularly hot or cool weather. Both subspecies of elephant can be found in humid places -- for example, African forest elephants are found in rainforests -- and in areas where temperatures reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. African elephants do need to keep cool though, so in a hot habitat, their large ears radiate heat to prevent them from getting too hot. If their ears can̵7;t do the job though, African elephants require a shady area to cool off.
Water
- Water is a huge concern for elephants, and perhaps the most important influence on where these creatures decide to live. African elephants stay close to water sources whenever possible and rarely stray more than 50 miles. African elephants depend on the water for drinking, using their trunks to suck water in before delivering it to their mouths. These animals also look to water as a means of staying cool when the weather gets too hot. As well as wading into the water to cool down, the elephants suck water up their trunks then use it to shower themselves.
Vegetation
- Since elephants graze regularly and thus consume as much as 600 pounds of food a day, the area where they live must be full of vegetation. African elephants eat a variety of food, but a lot of what they eat comes in the form of shrubs and arboreal plants. Their large molar teeth allow African elephants to consume many types of plants and fruit. Elephants obtain this food by tearing branches off trees using their trunks, or even uprooting the whole tree and knocking it down by slamming into it. They also use their trunks to shake fruit off trees.
Terrain in Habitats
- African elephants can live across a variety of terrain. African savannah elephants are found in dry woodlands and mountains, but predominantly live in the African savannahs from which they get their names, as well as on grasslands. African forest elephants, as the name suggests, are adept at thriving in dense forests including rainforests. Since African forest elephants are smaller than their savannah cousins, they are better able to move through these thick forests.

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