Class Mammalia, order Proboscidea, Elephantidae. Commonly known as elephant, it is the largest terrestrial animal in the world. Its main external feature is its flexible and muscular proboscis, which has the function of winding and is used for self-defense and protection. A powerful tool for feeding. There are only 2 species of Proboscidea, 1 family and 2 genera in the Elephantidae family, namely Asian elephants and African elephants. Asian elephants were once widely distributed in South Asia and Southeast Asia south of the Yangtze River in China. They are now distributed The range has been reduced, and it is mainly produced in India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries. There are also small wild populations in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China. African elephants are widely distributed throughout the African continent.

The height of the elephant at the shoulder is about 2 meters, weighing 3 to 7 tons. The head is big, and the ears are as big as fans. The limbs are as thick as cylinders, supporting the huge body, and the knee joints cannot bend freely. The nose is almost equal to the body length, cylindrical, and can stretch and bend freely; the nostrils are open At the end, there is a finger-like protrusion at the tip of the nose, which can pick up fine objects. The upper jaw has a pair of well-developed incisors, which grow throughout life. The incisors of African elephants can be up to 3.3 meters long. The long tusks of Asian elephant females are not exposed; each side of the upper and lower jaws has 6 Each cheek tooth grows sequentially from front to back, with a high tooth crown and a complex structure. Each foot has 5 toes, but the 1st and 5th toes are underdeveloped. The coat is sparse and the body color is light grayish brown. The male elephant's testicles are hidden in the abdominal cavity. ; Female elephants have two nipples behind their front legs. The gestation period lasts for more than 600 days, and they usually give birth to one baby. African elephants have two finger-like protrusions at the end of their proboscis, while Asian elephants only have one. African elephants have large ears and a large body shape. Larger, Asian elephants have smaller ears, smaller bodies, and lighter weight.

Elephants inhabit a variety of habitats, especially jungles, grasslands, and river valleys. They live in groups, and males occasionally live alone. They feed on plants They eat a lot of food, with a daily food intake of more than 225 kilograms. Their life span is about 80 years. Some elephants have been domesticated by humans and are regarded as domestic animals for riding or working. Ivory has always been used as a precious carving material and is expensive. Therefore, elephants have been hunted indiscriminately, and their numbers have declined sharply.

Modern elephants evolved from the ancestral elephant. According to fossil discoveries, the ancestral elephant in the Eocene era only had a longer snout and a smaller body. The ancestral elephant evolved into modern elephants in succession.

African elephant

Distributed in central, eastern and southern Africa.

African elephants live from sea level to an altitude of 5,000 It is the largest terrestrial mammal in existence. It lives in groups, led by a male elephant. It is diurnal and has no settlement. It feeds on wild grass, leaves, bark, twigs, etc.

The breeding period is not fixed, with a gestation period of about 22 months, one litter per birth, sexual maturity at 13-14 years old, and a lifespan of 60-70 years. The Beijing Zoo began breeding and exhibiting in 1954.

Listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

The African elephant is the largest terrestrial mammal in existence. Its body length is 6-7.5 meters, its tail length is 1-1.3 meters, and its shoulder height is 3-3 meters. 4 meters, weighing 5-7.5 tons. The highest record is a male, with a total body length of 10.67 meters, a front foot circumference of 1.8 meters, and a weight of 11.75 tons. The largest ivory record is 350 centimeters long and weighs about 107 kilograms.

Asian elephant

Scientific name: Elephas maximus

English name: Indian elephant

Distributed in southern Yunnan Province, China. Found abroad in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Asian elephants (also known as elephants) live in tropical forests, jungles or grasslands. They live in groups, led by a female elephant, have no fixed habitat, and are diurnal. They have sensitive smelling and hearing, but poor vision. It likes to bathe in water when it is hot. It forages in the morning and dusk, eating weeds, leaves, bamboo leaves, wild fruits, etc.

The breeding period is not fixed, the gestation period is 20-22 months, and one litter is born every 9-12 months. It matures at the age of 60 and has a lifespan of 60-70 years. It was raised and exhibited in Beijing Zoo in 1951 and successfully bred in 1964.

It is a Chinese protected animal and is included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

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Proboscidea once had 6 families, 5 of which are extinct, leaving only 1 family, 2 genera and 2 species of animals in the Elephantidae family. The characteristics of animals in this order are as the name suggests, with a long nose and finger-like protrusions at the end of the nose, which can pick up small objects. Item. The Elephantidae family includes 2 genera and 2 species of animals, namely the Asian elephant and the African elephant. The elephant is the largest extant terrestrial mammal and has a well-developed sense of smell and hearing.

, poor vision. The proboscis serves as arms and fingers, and can take in water and food into the mouth. The huge auricles not only help listening, but also have a heat dissipation function. The long tusks of males (both male and female African elephants) are unique The upper limbs of the Asian elephant have 5 toes and 4 toes on the hind limbs, and the African elephant has 3 toes on the forelimbs.

Elephants are social animals, living in families, with the female elephant as the leader, and the number of hours of daily activity , action routes, foraging locations, habitats, etc. are all under the command of female elephants. Adult male elephants are only responsible for protecting the safety of their families. Sometimes several elephant herds gather together to form a large group of hundreds.

An elephant named "Zhongni" at the Zoo in Perm, Russia, celebrated his 40th birthday on the 18th, making him the oldest elephant in the world raised by a zoo or circus.

Among mammals, the longest-lived animal is the elephant. It is said that it can live sixty to seventy years. Of course, the wild environment is different from that in captivity. The lifespan of the former is shorter. According to records, Gola Pagos The longevity elephants of the archipelago can live between 180 and 200 years