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The African Elephant
The elephant is a large and majestic
beast. It is an intelligent and social creature that
lives in herds of up to thirty individuals. A male
elephant can weigh up to six tons.
Elephants are entirely vegetarian. They
eat leaves, fruit, and branches consuming up to five
hundred pounds a day. When they drink they can drink
up to forty gallons at one go.They play an important
role in the ecosystem by removing scrub and trees
thus sustaining the grasslands for other creatures.
They reach maturity at around twelve
and the female will give birth after a gestation periond
of 22 months. An elephant can live to the age of seventy.
The elephant is being threatened by
poaching for its ivoty tusks. Ivory is in much demand
for use in art and craft work and can fetch high prices.
For this reason the Elephant is listed under an international
treaty called CITES (Convention in Trade in Endangered
Species)
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