African Animals, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara wildlife

The Northern Serengeti supports a good number of elephants. Its population has slowly recovered since the World ban on ivory trade (1989), a radical and necessary measure taken as a consequence of the heavy poaching of the 80s, that almost exterminated these beautiful giants. The Ngorongoro population of elephants comprises almost exclusively old bulls, probably the largest to be seen in Tanzania. Most are survivals of the pre-ban days, lucky individuals that found themselves relatively safe inside the crater. Lake Manyara has also a good population of elephants, fairly easy to see in the area immediate to the entrance gate.

The African Savanna Elephant is a colossal animal, with a great intelligence and proverbial memory. Also known as the bush elephant or African bush elephant, it's the best-known of the two African elephants (the other being the forest elephant).

The largest of all land animals, the savanna elephant normally reaches 6 to 7.3 m in length and 3 to 3.5 meters in height, although a 4-meter elephant, whose body is dissected in the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., was discovered in Angola in 1955. It weights between 5,000 and 10,000 kg, and eats up to 300kg of grass, leaves, shoots, flowers, and bark each day (along with some 200 litres of water per day). In spite of its huge mass, it can it can reach a top speed of 40 km/h when scared or upset (although its normal rate is of 6 km/h).

The animal is characterized by its large head; two large ears that cover its shoulders and radiate excess heat; a large and muscular trunk; two prominent "tusks" (incisors), which are well-developed in both sexes, although more commonly in males; a short, almost nonexistent neck; a large, barrel-like body; four long and heavy legs that resemble columns; and a relatively short tail. Elephants are protected by a heavy but flexible layer of gray-brown skin, dotted with mostly undeveloped patches of hair and long, black hair at the tip of its tail. The trunk is the most characteristic feature of the savanna elephant. It is formed by the fusion and elongation of the nose and upper lip, forming a flexible and strong organ made purely of muscle.

African Elephants are vegetarian animals. The diet of a savanna elephant varies according to its habitat; elephants living in forests, partial deserts, and meadows all eat different proportions of herbs and tree or shubbery leaves. In order to break down the plants they consume, savanna elephants have four large molars, two in each mandible of the jaw. Each of these molars is 10 cm wide and 30 cm long. Over time, these molars are worn away and new ones are grown to replace them as the elephant ages. Around the age of 15 their milk teeth are replaced by new ones that last until the age of 30, and then by another ones which wore off past the age of 40, being replaced by the last teeth that last approximately until the age of 65, 70 at longest. Not much later, the animal dies of starvation not being able to feed correctly. There are known cases of over 80 year old specimens in captivity.

The savanna elephants are notably inteligent animals. In fact, experiments about reasoning and learning applied on them show that they are the smartest ungulates together with their asian cousins. This is mostly due to their large brain, house of the famous 'elephant memory'. Furthermore, elephants are one of the few animals that show recognition of one another even after death. When an old elephant dies the rest accompanies her in that difficult journey and stay by the corpse for a while. Females have even been reported to stand watch over their dead young and cover the body with branches and twigs. The famous Elephant Graveyards are a myth, though, but it is true that these animals can recognise a carcass of its species when they find one during their trips, and even if its a stranger, they form around it and sometimes they even touch its forehead with their trunk.

Packs are made up of related females and their younglings of assorted ages, directed by the eldest female, called the matriarch. In occasions an adult male goes with them, but those usually leave the pack when reaching adolescence to form packs with other elephants of the same age. Later, they spread out, carrying out a lonely life, approaching the female packs only during the mating season. The matriarch is the one who decides the route and shows to each other member of the pack all the water sources she knows, which the rest will memorize in the future. The relations among the members of the pack is very tight; when a female gives birth to a baby the rest go to acknowledge it touching her with the trunk.

The mating happens when the female feels ready, an event that can occur anytime during the year. At that moment she starts emitting infrasounds that attract the males, sometimes many kilometers away. The adult males start arriving to the pack during the following days and begin fighting head-to-head between them, causing some injuries and even broken tusks. The strongest, triunphant, mates with the female (in case she accepts him, shown by rubbing her body against his), and then both get apart and go its own way. After 22 months of gestation (the longest among mammals), the female gives birth to a single 90cm-high baby who weighs more than 100 kg. The baby sucks the mothers milk until the age of 5, but it also eats solid food from the 6 months. Just a few days after the birth he can follow the pack by foot, so then can the pack resume its course.

The adult savanna elephant lacks predators thanks to its great size, but the younglings (specially the newborn) are vulnerable to lions', leopards', crocodiles' and, more rarely, hyenas' attacks. This predation and the lack of water in drought seasons cause a considerable infant mortality in this species, in spite of the efforts made by all the females of the group, who usually attack any dangerous animal who dares to approach them. Amongst all the species, savanna elephants show special aversion towards rhinoceros, even so that they attack them at first sight. The behaviour can be observed mostly on males, especially the younger ones, and there have even been cases of 'murdering' adolescents who seemed to enjoy this kind of fights.