African and Asian elephants: what is the difference?
Baku, September 28, AZERTAC
We all tend to believe that there are 2 types of elephants in the world: African and Asian species.
In 2000, however, the scientists categorized the African elephant species into two distinct species, with the larger being the African savanna elephant and the smaller being the African forest elephant.
Still, it is also important to distinguish the African elephant and its Asian counterpart.
Therefore, without further ado here are 3 main features to help you distinguish two main species of elephants in the world.
Firstly, African elephants have much larger ears that look sort of like the continent of Africa, while Asian elephants have smaller, round ears.
Secondly, African elephants and Asian elephants also differ in head shape. African elephants have rounded heads, while Asian elephants have a twin-domed head, which means there is a divot line running up the head.
Finally, both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only male Asian elephants can grow them.
Additionally, there’s a size difference: African savanna elephants are about 8,000 kg (9 tons) and are between 3 and 4 meters tall (between 10 and 13 feet) at the shoulder. Their Asian counterparts, on the contrary, weigh 5,500 kg (about 6 tons) and, at most, are 3.5 meters tall at the shoulder (11.5 feet).
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