When Elephants Are Born Their Brains Are Nearly Fully Developed
Its quite remarkable to think that a baby animal could be born with an almost fully developed brain. After nearly two years of development in their mothers womb, elephants are born with a highly developed brain, which they employ to recognise the herds intricate social structure and to feed themselves using their dextrous trunks.
The Gestation Period Of A Baby Elephant Is 18 22 Months
Elephants have the longest gestation period of any mammal on the planet. It takes a long time to bake a baby elephant! From the time of conception to actually giving birth can take between 18 and 22 months! If you thought a human pregnancy drags on, then please spare a thought for a female elephant!
The Average Weight Of Newborn Baby Elephant
The average newborn baby elephant weighs around 198.4-220.4 lb .
Adult female elephants give birth to calves. Adult females produce only one offspring at an approximate interval of four to five years. Elephants can also give birth to twins, however, only 1% of elephant pregnancies result in twins. Calves or baby elephants are the center of attention in their family groups or herd and rely primarily on the mother for milk for up to three years of age. Mothers provide all the nutrients that calves need through their milk. Baby elephants are precocial due to female elephants’ long pregnancies. Most baby elephants are born at night. Usually, adult male elephants are heavier on average compared to adult female elephants. Baby elephants can reach up to 200 lb and stand up to 3 ft tall. Both African and Asian calf are 3 ft tall. Cows or female elephants can give birth to calves that vary in weight, from 150-360 lb . The largest elephant calf to be born was recorded was in San Diego Zoo in 2018, weighing around 281 lb . This record was broken in 2020 by a male Asian elephant calf born in the Houston Zoo, weighing around 326 lb .
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What Does An Elephant’s Weight Compare To
As mentioned earlier, elephants are the largest existing terrestrial animals on Earth. But are they the largest of all creatures on this planet, or are there some other animals that can be bigger or weigh more than elephants? The answer to this question is explored below.
There is one animal on Earth that is even bigger than an elephant. This creature is the blue whale, which lives in the ocean. It is thought that a single blue whale can weigh the equivalent of 30 elephants. Their size and weight are so large because of the buoyancy and vast living space provided by the ocean. Meanwhile, like many other terrestrial animals, elephants and their size, including their weight, are somewhat restricted by the gravitational pull of the Earth.
In conclusion, you can say that while elephants are definitely bigger and weigh more than a lion or a tiger, they are still smaller than blue whales.
How Long Are Baby Elephants Dependant On Their Mothers
Baby elephants are dependent on their mothers for many years. They start to gain independence when they become sexually mature at 8 13 years old, but they might not leave the herd until theyre 16 18 years old.
Females might not leave the herd at all. Its common for them to stay with their mothers herd for their entire life. Males tend to be the migrant ones.
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Elephants: The Strongest Land Mammals
Elephants have long been regarded as large and powerful, as well as a symbol of strength and size, and their enormous size is a major reason for their popularity as tourist attractions. The African bush elephant is the largest land mammal, weighing up to 10.1 tons . Elephant fully grown males can weigh up to 15,000 pounds .
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…by regularly surveying them and fitting GPS collars to track their movements, to keep both elephants and people safe.
Were determined to stop the illegal wildlife trade by supporting community scouts, rangers, sniffer dogs and wildlife trade monitoring networks, to deter poachers and stamp out demand from would-be buyers.
But we couldnt do all this without your support.
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Why Is It Dangerous For An Elephant To Have Twins
The only thing more adorable than two floppy ears is four floppy ears. Despite their cuteness, however, twin elephants come with some serious disadvantages:
- They compete for resources. This is a particular problem with male-female twins. Male calves are bigger and have greater milk demands, so they can get aggressive when their sisters try to nurse. Theyll push them away and prevent them from suckling. Mom will have to wait until her son is sleeping or distracted to feed her daughter.
- Young calves are very vulnerable to predators. A group of lions can take down a healthy, full-grown elephant, so babies dont stand a chance. With twins, theres twice the risk of a predator nabbing them.
- They require a lot of energy from mom. In addition to carrying around massive fetuses, female elephants will need to nurse, shelter, groom and defend their calves after theyre born. Theyll get help from other female members in the herd, but its still a lot. Its double the usual workload.
How Much Does A Baby Elephant Weigh After One Year
If a baby elephant continues to gain weight at an average of 2-3 pounds daily, they can gain 730-1,095 pounds in a year.
Adding this to their average weight at birth, a baby elephant at one year will weigh 930-1,395 pounds.
Remember, these values are estimates. Factors like food, environment, and physical activity can affect the bodyweight of elephants.
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At For Elephants, we are working to improve fertility rates for zoo elephants through our endocrine research. We work with zoos across the country to improve the living conditions of elephants. You can support our work by joining our Herd of Heroes program to make a monthly donation. Join down below, and do not forget to register for our newsletter.
Amazing Facts About Baby Elephants
Elephants are one of the most beautiful and majestic animals that grace the lands of this planet. Their babies are also off the scale cute!
With their sweetness and friendly demeanour, these enormous newborns have captured the hearts of millions of people around the world, especially on social media.
In this article we celebrate all the wonderful and amazing facts about baby elephants.
There is just so much you can learn about this animal that its hard to just limit this post to just 10 facts.
Below we have collated a group of facts and images that shows the true essence and wonder of this incredible animal.
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At What Age Is An Elephant Full Grown
Elephants take a long time to grow physically and emotionally. They reach the majority of their sze by age 15, but often continue to grow in size and weight until theyre about 20 years old. Males might fill out for a bit longer, but by age 25, both males and females are at their full size and strength.
The Second Heaviest Elephant Is The Asian Elephant
Dmytro Gilitukha/Shutterstock.com
The truth is, ranking the African forest elephant and Asian elephant is an inexact science, as you could make an argument for either one being larger. Male Asian elephants typically weigh up to 8,800 pounds while females weight up to about 6,000 pounds. The largest Asian elephant ever recorded weighed about 15,400 pounds. On the other hand, African forest elephants were only recently recognized as a distinct species, so its hard to say just how large they get!
The bottom line, both the elephant species that typically live in forest environments are smaller than the largest elephant on this list, the savanna elephant that lives across African plains.
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Do All Elephants Have Tusks
Both male and female African elephants have tusks, but only male Asian elephants have tusks. Tusks are used as a tool for digging, gathering food, and defending themselves. Elephant tusks are highly prized in the ivory trade, resulting in illegal elephant poaching. IFAW is working in Asia and Africa to reduce market supply and consumer demand for elephant ivory, where the demand is highest. Learn how you can help protect elephants.
Interesting Facts About Baby Elephants
Elephants are some of the most fascinating animals on earth. These massive creatures are known for their loyalty, intelligence, and love for peanuts. But did you know that elephants also have an interesting variety of other uses? Here are some fun facts about baby elephants to help get your day started! ELEPHANTS CAN BE USED AS TRANSPORTATION Elephants can be used as transportation in some areas of the world. It is very common for people to ride on an elephant while they travel. A TOTEM SYMBOL OF GOOD LUCK In some countries, like India, elephants are considered a symbol of good luck. This is why it is common to see statues of elephants at temples or houses. PARTS OF THE ELEPHANTS have USED IN MEDICINE The parts of an elephant are used in medicine in many different ways. For example, ground-up ivory can be used in glue, or ivory dust can be added to.
Did you know that a baby elephant is usually born pink? Not white like we might think. They turn white as they age. Did you also know that the fastest land animal is a cheetah and not a lion or a tiger?
READ : Baby Elephant | What is a baby elephant called?
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The Elephants Closest Living Relative Is The Rock Hyrax
FROM BABY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE
A baby elephant weighs about 200-250 lbs. . At birth, a calfs trunk has little muscle tone and no coordination. It takes several months for a calf to gain full control of its trunk. Baby elephants suckle through their mouth.
Young Asian elephants are reported to stand soon after birth. After several months, the calf begins to eat grass and foliage. It stays under the supervision of its mother for several years but begins making independent movements at four years. Full size is attained at about 18-24 years.
EYESIGHT
Elephants eyes are small because of the position and size of the head and neck, they have limited peripheral vision. Reportedly elephants have poor eyesight with a range of only 25 ft. This is slightly improved in forest shade.
SKIN
An elephants skin is an inch thick in some areas but very thin behind their ears, under their legs , and around their eyes and rectum. Their skin is prone to irritation from insect bites. Asian elephants have more hair on their body than African elephants and this is especially evident in young Asian elephants, who are covered in a coat of reddish brown hair.
The skin color of Asian elephants is dark grey to brown, with patches of pink on the forehead, the ears, and sometimes the base of the trunk and chest.
TEETH
Elephants have four molars one on the top and one on the bottom of both sides of the mouth. One molar can weigh about 5 lbs. and is the size of a brick.
TAIL
EARS
Baby Elephants Are Called Calves
The name for baby elephants are called a calves. Its a very popular name for a baby animal. Baby elephants also shares the name with a baby whale, cow, camel, bison, elk, giraffe, gnu, hippopotamus, moose, ox, reindeer, rhinoceros, and yak. Im sure there are many more we could list. Did you know that a calf is also a huge chunk of ice that breaks off of a glacier or iceberg?
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Do Baby Elephants Suck Their Thumbs
No. Elephants dont have thumbs, but one of our favorite baby elephant facts is that they do something remarkably similar to human infants: they suck on their trunks.
They put the end in their mouth like a thumb or a pacifier. Some people think that its an exercise in motor control others think that its just a playful or absent-minded gesture from a baby.
Either way, its extremely cute!
How Much Does A Newborn Elephant Weigh
Elephants are very large creatures and theyre born big too. Elephants typically weigh around 300 pounds at birth, but there have been larger newborns that have weighed up to 400 pounds. Thats the same as two full-grown humans! However, its not just their weight thats impressive elephant calves are also quite large in length and height when compared to human babies.
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The Heaviest Elephant Is The African Bush Elephant
Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock.com
African bush elephants live in sub-Saharan Africa on the plains and savannas. Literally the biggest baby, African savanna babies weigh an average of 264 lbs with some starting out as big as 364 lbs! Makes sense because when they are adults they can reach 7 tons or more. They range in size from 2.5-7 tons . A large African savanna elephant is about the size of your favorite street taco truck!
It’s A Girl African Elephant Newborn On Exhibit At San Diego Zoo
Just hours after her birth on August 28, a baby African Elephantmade her public debut at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The female calf wasborn at 3:39 a.m. to the Safari Park’s matriarch, Swazi. The baby was on herfeet within a few minutes of birth her first tentative steps were captured on the video below. The calf wasborn on exhibit so when the Park opened at 9 a.m., guests were already able tosee Swazi and her newborn!
Mom and baby are doing well and spending these first days bonding. They can be seen daily at the Park’s elephant habitat or you can watch them live via the ElephantCam on the Park’s web site or Safari Park iPhone app. The average gestation period for African Elephants is 649 days — or 22 months. A newborn elephant normally weighs between 200 to 268 pounds this little calf weighed in at 205 pounds .
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The Weight Of An Elephant And Other Elephant Facts
Elephants are huge animals. If you have ever heard the amount of noise that a lizard makes when rustling through the leaves you would think that an elephant must make enough noise when they pass by to awaken an entire village. The truth is these humongous creatures are graceful on their feet and can pass by a camp without awaking the sleeping people in the tents.
The trunk of an elephant can be used to smell things, lift things, grab things, and even spray water over their backs when they are hot. Lets see what other interesting facts we can discover about the elephants of the world.
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Baby African Bush Elephants
Villiers Steyn/Shutterstock.com
The African bush elephant is the largest of all the elephants and the largest land animal. The male babies can be as big as 360 lbs when born, with the average being closer to 260 lbs and 3ft tall. The gestation period for an elephant is around 22 months, which makes sense when you are growing a 260 lb baby! If the elephant had the same gestation as humans, 9 months, the babies would have to put on about 30 lbs a month! When it is spread out over 22 months it is closer to 12lbs per month, something the pregnant female is better equipped to handle.
Within an hour after birth baby elephants are able to stand up and walk around. They have to be able to stand to reach their mothers bellies to get their first milk. They eat with their mouth, not their trunk as some may think. Baby elephants will drink around 3 gallons of milk a day! They rely solely on milk for about the first four months of life and then gradually add in vegetation. African savanna elephants live in central and southern Africa where there is an abundance of leaves, branches, roots and grasses to eat.
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More Facts About Elephants
HERD & SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Female elephants spend their entire lives living in large groups called herds. Male elephants leave their herds at about 13 years old and live fairly solitary lives, sometimes joining loose-knit bachelor herds of other male elephants, leaving at will to search for potential mates.
Female elephants are called cows, male elephants are called bulls, and babies are called calves. A herd can consist of 8-100 individuals depending on terrain, climate, and family size. Female herds are led by matriarchs, often the oldest and wisest females in the group.
An elephant will have 1 calf at a time and the mother and all of the other females in the herd, including aunts, grandmothers, and sisters, will raise the baby.
An elephant in the wild will rarely have more than four children throughout her life. Female elephants can start to have babies when they are about 14 years old and they are pregnant for 22 months .
Do Different Types Of Elephants Have Different Weight Ranges
There are 3 main types of elephants: Asian, African Forest, and African Bush. Each species has unique attributes and different weight ranges.
Generally, African Bush Elephants are larger than Asian Elephants. Asian Elephants, in turn, are larger than African Forest Elephants.
- African Bush Elephants: 5,000-14,000 pounds
- African Forest Elephants: 4,000-10,000 pounds
- Asian Elephants: 4,500-12,000 pounds
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