African Bush Elephant
Loxodonta africana (Blumenbach, 1797)
LocalLocal names & traditional uses
Largest living land animal, native to sub-Saharan Africa.
Traditional benefits
- Ecosystem engineer that shapes savanna and forest landscapes
- Seed disperser for many tropical trees
Role & value
Why this animal matters in nature and to people.
- Yankari & Kainji wildlife
Recognised for its role as Yankari & Kainji wildlife.
In depth
Simple Facts
Short, clear explanations — great for homework and school projects.
- African Bush Elephant is an animal. Animals must find food to eat, because they cannot make their own.
- Its scientific name is “Loxodonta africana”. Every species has one, so people everywhere know exactly which one you mean.
- Scientists put it in the Elephantidae family, inside the order Proboscidea — a group of relatives that share features.
- Its genus (closest relatives) is Loxodonta.
- Higher up, it belongs to Mammalia → Chordata → Animalia.
- It is known for Yankari & Kainji wildlife.
- Other names people call it: 'Clou, Aafrika suur elevant, African Bush Elephant, African Savanna Elephant, African elephant.
- You can find it in places like Africa, Global, BW, KE, MZ.
- Conservation experts list it as endangered.
- Every animal has a job in nature — eating, being eaten, spreading seeds or keeping other numbers in balance.
Videos
Watch documentaries and wildlife footage on YouTube.
Descriptions
Conservation: CITES – Appendix II for Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, Appendix I for other African countries; U. S. ESA – Threatened; IUCN – Endangered.
Discussion: See Laursen and Bekoff (1978, Mammalian Species, 92) and Deraniyagala (1955). The name cornaliae (Aradas, 1870) is based on a Loxodonta molar from Catania, Sicily, and inferentially was a Carthaginian import (C. Groves, pers comm., 2002). The North African names (berbericus, hannibali, pharaohensis) were placed in this synonymy instead of under L. cyclotis per suggestion of Colin Groves (pers. comm., 2002).
Distribution: Sub-Saharan, except C and W coast of Africa, including 30 countries from Senegal in the west to Somalia in the east.
Type Locality: Restricted to the Orange River, South Africa by Pohle (1926; see Allen, 1939).
STATUS: CITES - Appendix I; U. S. ESA - Threatened; IUCN - Vulnerable.
COMMENTS: See Laursen and Bekoff (1978, Mammalian Species, 92).
Distribution
Synonyms
Common Names
References
- GBIF entry
- Encyclopedia of Life
- iNaturalist
- Broek,E. van den,Jansen,J.,Jr. (1964) Parasites of animals in the Netherlands. I. Parasites of wild birds
- Burgin, Connor J., Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands, et al., 2020: null. Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 1. Monotremata to Rodentia. 631.
- Costică Adam,Attila D. Sàndor (2005) New data on the chewing louse fauna (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) from Romania. Part II
- Costică Adam,Chișamera,G. (2006) Remarks on two chewing louse species (Phthiraptera: Amblycera) collected from the individuals of a sand martin (Riparia riparia (L.)) colony from southern Romania
- Roca, Alfred L., Nicholas Georgiadis, Jill Pecon-Slattery, and Stephen J. O'Brien, 2001: Genetic Evidence for Two Species of Elephant in Africa. Science, vol. 293. 1473-1477.
- Wilson, D. E., and R. A. Mittermeier, eds., 2011: null. Handbook of the Mammals of the World, vol. 2: Hoofed Mammals. 206-247.
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