Should you walk right up to that cute little elephant trying to balance on its legs and offer it a bite out of your sandwich? Probably not. Those in captivity get to sample foods their cousins in the wild could never imagine and doting caretakers have been known to feed their charges bread, pasta, and rice cakes. Unusual Things Elephants Can EatĪpart from munching on cacti, sausage tree fruits, and ivory palm fruits, elephants are also partial to watermelons and pumpkins. An Asian elephant in the beautiful forest at Kanchanaburi province in Thailand. Other differences include smoother skin than African elephants, rounder ears, and a longer, more tapered lower lip shape.Īlthough Asian elephants are a bit smaller than their African cousins, they are still known to eat over 300 pounds of food each day! They prefer eating smaller plants like grasses and twigs more than tree bark and roots, as their trunks aren’t quite as strong or flexible as those of African elephants. While they look similar, these elephants are smaller than both types of African elephants, and they have smaller, less powerful tusks. Specifically, Indian elephants eat a diet that includes: They occupy 13 different countries and mostly live in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Nepal, though they are also sometimes found in parts of China, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, among others.īecause they tend to live in grasslands and heavily forested areas throughout Asia, Asian elephants commonly eat a wide range of plant material native to those areas. They also use their tusks to dig up roots and soil to supplement their diet with salt and other minerals found in the earth.Īfrican forest elephants also live throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, primarily occupying countries with more densely forested areas like Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.īecause they haven’t been studied as closely as their African bush counterparts, we don’t know as much about their behavior and diet, but this is slowly changing! What Do Asian Elephants Eat?Īsian elephants are the third currently recognized species of elephants. However, in recent years, scientists have found that the two species have more differences than they initially thought! Namely, African forest elephants are smaller and shorter than African bush elephants and have differently shaped tusks, skulls, and skeletons.Īs you might imagine, their diet is also very similar to that of the African bush elephant, being mostly made up of various kinds of leaves, branches, fruits, and tree bark. The African forest elephant is quite similar to the African bush elephant in fact, for many years, the two species were lumped together, with both being considered simply African elephants. ©Teo Tarras/ What Do African Forest Elephants Eat? With their strong trunks and large, flat teeth, these animals are perfectly suited to ripping bark right off of trees and pulling entire branches into their mouths! They will also use their tusks and feet to dig into the ground to find underground water sources or near trees to pull up their roots and mineral-rich soil to munch on. Soil (to consume its salt and other minerals like iron and potassium).African bush elephants eat meals are usually made up of the following types of plant material: Many will scale mountain ranges to find food they have even been found at altitudes of over 8,000 feet!īecause these elephants often move between various types of habitats, they have very diverse diets made up of the plants they find during their long daily grazing sessions. Their habitats are primarily made up of grasslands, forests, wetlands, and farmland of various elevations. These elephants occupy 37 different African countries, most of which are located in sub-Saharan Africa. The African bush elephant, also commonly known as the African savannah elephant, is one of two remaining species of African elephants. After all, Asian elephants that live in dense rainforests have very different diets than African bush elephants living in sub-Saharan Africa! Let’s examine the diet of each elephant species individually. Yet, a list of what elephants eat wouldn’t be complete without analyzing what different elephant species eat. Local crops such as rice, bananas, and sugar cane.Soil (for salt and minerals like iron and potassium).What Do Elephants Eat: The Full List An elephant taking a fruit Let’s explore what each species of elephant eats, as well as where they live and their morphological and dietary differences. Today, three unique species of elephants are recognized by biologists: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. Only The Top 1% Can Ace our Animal Quizzes Think You Can? Take Our Brand New A-Z-Animals Elephants Quiz
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