Content
Elephants are one of the biggest animals in the world. A really curious fact, considering that it is a herbivorous animal, that is, it only feeds on plants.
What might give you a clue as to how this is possible is the amount of food they eat a day, about 200 kg of food a day. If they need to eat that much food, the following question is obvious: how much an elephant weighs? Don't worry, in this Animal Expert article we give you all the answers.
African elephant and Asian elephant
The first thing we must do is differentiate between the two types of elephant that exist: the African and the Asian.
We mention this duality, since one of the differences between them is precisely in their size. Although, respectively, they are the two largest animals on their continents. You can already know that the Asian is smaller than the African. The African elephant can measure up 3.5 meters high and 7 meters long. On the other hand, the Asian reaches the 2 meters high and 6 meters long.
when an elephant weighs
An elephant can weigh between 4,000 and 7,000 kg. Asians a little less, around 5,000 kg. And a curious fact is that your brain weighs between 4 to 5 kg.
How much does the biggest elephant in the world weigh?
The biggest elephant ever seen lived in the year 1955 and was from Angola. It reached up to 12 tons.
How much does an elephant weigh when it is born?
The first thing we should know is that an elephant's gestation period lasts over 600 days. Yes, you read it well, almost two years. In fact, the "baby" elephant, at birth, weighs about 100 kg and measures a meter in height. That's why the gestation process is so slow.
Other Interesting Facts About Elephants
- They live about 70 years. The oldest known elephant so far lived 86 years old.
- Despite having 4 legs, the elephant can't jump. Can you imagine several elephants jumping?
- Your trunk has more than 100,000 different muscles.
- Dedicate some 16 hours a day to feed.
- You can even drink 15 liters of water at once.
- The tusks of an elephant can weigh up to 90 kg and measure up to 3 meters.
Unfortunately, it is these tusks that cause many poachers to murder several elephants. In October 2015 they died in Zimbabwe 22 poisoned elephants by cyanide.
