jrosenbergB3

= My organisms name is African elephant. =



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Elephants are the largest land-dwelling mammals on earth. They are brown to dark gray in color and have long, coarse hairs sparsely covering their bodies.The reason african elephants are endangered because of habitat loss and they have to predators the lion that eats them and humans because humans uses their tusks for ivory such as piano keys and art work save the world.====== 

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African elephants are native to a wide variety of habitats including semi-desert scrub,open savannas and dense forest regions. Their habitat ranges from sea level to 16,000 feet(4877 m). The African elephant is the largest living animal and weigh up to 5,400 kg. it inhabits the Savannah,brush,forest,river valleys, and semi-desert regions of africa south of the [|****Sahara****] Desert. Besides its greater size, it differs fro the asian elephant in having larger ears and tusks, a slopping forehead, and two "fingers" at the tip of its truck, compared to only one in the Asian species.====== **Common name: ** **African, savannah elephant ** ** Class: Mammalia **
 * Order: Proboscidae **
 * __[|****Family****]__: Elephantidae **
 * Genus species: //Loxodonta // (slanting __[|****tooth****]__) //africana // (from Africa) **
 * Size: 3 to 4 m (10 - 13 ft.) tall at shoulder; 6 to 7.25 m long (20 - 24 ft.) **
 * Weight: 3200 to 6400 kg (7000 - 14000 lb.), females are smaller **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Description: largest of all land mammals, with large ears, a long trunk, and large tusk **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Life Span: up to 70 years **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Gestation: 22 to 24 months **
 * __[|****Sexual Maturity****]__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">: ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">females (cows) 10 to 11 years, males (bulls) 10 to 20 years **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Habitat: found in the forests, grasslands, marshes, scrub, and semi-desert areas of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a distinct sub-species, the forest elephant, found in the tropical forests of central Africa. **
 * __[|****Diet****]__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">: herbivore that eats all types of vegetation such as grasses, leaves, fruits, and bark Status: listed by USFWS as threatened and protected by CITES **   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[[image:http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:pRHil73cmjthYM:http://174.129.236.181/photos/display_pic_with_logo/92264/92264,1213813592,3.jpg width="284" height="356" align="left"]]

Elephants eat mainly leaves and grass all day long and they drink a lot of water (190 litres per day).and there weight is 15 tones fully grown. doing so and is not a carnivore, the African elephant is a herbivore. T he African Elephants have been on the national list of most endangered species since 1989. They are being kept in zoo's and trying to keep them out in their own natural habitat. Being watch over by animal protecters trying to keep them safe. Keeping them out of the circuses. Hopefully the african elephants will remain alive if they can keep them safe to repopulate their race.

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**Interesting Facts**
 * 1) =====African elephant ears are much larger as compared to their Asian cousins, and some say the ears are shaped like the African continent=====
 * 2) =====African elephants are less hairy than their Asian counterparts (duh!) [[image:http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/image-files/elephant_tb-dust1.jpg width="399" height="266" align="right" caption="African Elephant"]] =====
 * 3) =====The trunk of an adult African elephant is about 7 feet long (longer than Michael Jordan)=====
 * 4) =====The trunk is said to be capable of killing a lion=====
 * 5) =====The lifespan of an African elephant out in the wild is about 60 years=====
 * 6) =====When drinking water, it will suck in as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk and blows it down its throat.=====
 * 7) =====The foot of an elephant is spongy at the bottom and has 4 or 5 toenails. The pad absorbs the impact at it strides along=====
 * 8) =====An elephant thick skin looks tough but its actually sensitive and the animal keeps itself free from pests by rolling in mud and flinging dust on itself. This also helps block the harmful UV light rays from the sun. [[image:http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:7tivipIEsdBjhM:http://www.animalfactguide.com/images/maps/worldmap_elephant.png width="231" height="266" align="right"]] =====

contact with the females over great distances, using sounds well below the range of human hearing. Family groups communicate with each other using these low-frequency vibrations.
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