Featured Animal: African Elephant – Animal Fact Guide

Meet our Featured Animal: the African elephant!

Here are five fun facts about African elephants:

• Weighing up to 6000 kg (6.6 tons) and measuring up to 3.3 m (10 ft.) at the shoulder, the African elephant is the world’s largest land mammal.
• Both male and female elephants possess tusks, which are modified incisor teeth.
• On average, an elephant can hear another elephant’s call at 4 km (2.5 mi.) away. Under ideal conditions, their range of hearing can be increased to 10 km (6.2 mi.).
• African elephants mostly communicate through low frequency sounds called “rumbling.”  They are capable of producing and perceiving sounds one to two octaves lower than the human hearing limit.
• African elephants have good memory, which allows them to remember deceased loved ones, harbor grudges, and recognize long-lost friends. Upon the return of a friend, elephants take part in a joyous greeting ceremony where they spin in circles, flap their ears, and trumpet.

Learn more about elephants at our African elephant facts article.