Home >> Science & Nature >> Animals & Science

Habitat for a Bush Elephant

Despite its ponderous weight, gray, baggy skin, and protuberant nose, the elephant is a majestic creature. Observers and researchers are only beginning to understand their complex social structure and interactions. Elephants have been victims, too, of their own popularity. Humans have hunted elephants for their ivory and, in captivity, made them beasts of burden or circus or zoo animals. An elephant in any venue is a wonder to behold, but no enclosure can rival their natural habitat.

Habitat
- The African bush (or savanna) elephant prefers the wide open grasslands of the African continent, unlike its forest dwelling relative. Bush elephant habitat varies, however, as they can also be found in the marshes and river valleys. Elephants in the wild often range far afield, traveling thousands of miles within a year in search of food and water. Where once the bush elephant habitat ranged from the southern tip of the African continent to just south of the Sahara desert, this habitat is fragmented. As the human population has spread out and built new cities and communities, elephants are confined to ever smaller areas. They are now found mostly in or around wild life preserves and protected areas where they can be relatively safe from poachers.
Life Cycle
- When threatened, elephants surround the young and face the danger.
  
  Elephants, barring accidents or intentional harm, live a long time. In their natural habitat they live an average of 70 years; in captivity 80 year old elephants are not unknown. Females give birth every four to nine years, after a gestation period of about 22 months. Elephant calves are able to walk and follow their mothers soon after they are born.
Social Structure
- Researchers closely monitor and interpret the elephant's complex society.
  
  Elephant herds are matriarchal in structure. The oldest female is the head of the clan and makes the decisions of where to travel and when to rest or eat. The herd, usually about 10 elephants, is made up of the matriarch's close female relatives and their offspring. Once the males reach maturity they leave the herd. When an infant is calved into this society it is cared for by its mother, along with a nurturing network of females and younger males. Once the matriarch reaches 50 or 60 years of age, she steps aside and the next oldest female takes over.
Challenges
- The adult African elephant is so enormous that it has no natural predators -- except humans. At one point, in the 1980s, humans killed approximately 100,000 elephants each year primarily for their ivory tusks and as trophies. In 1998 the African Elephant Conservation Act banned the trade of ivory, putting a stop to the mass killings. Poachers are still a danger, however, though not as large. The sharing of resources and habitat with humans can also present problems. During the wet season elephant herds can find water close by; in the dry season, their travels in search of water can bring them into direct conflict with the human population.

Animals & Science