International Elephant Foundation - Asian and African Elephant Conservation

Compare African and Asian Elephants - See the differences

Feet	5 toenails on front feet, 4 toenails on rear	5 toenails on each foot
Habitat	Grasslands, scrub and forests of Africa	Forest of Southeast Asia
Diet	Primarily a grazer	Primarily a browser
Social Life	Female: family groups Male: solitary, loose relationships	Female: family groups Male: solitary, loose relationships
Gestation	659 days	665 days
Interbirth interval	3 years	3 years
Status	Endangered/Threatened (Habitat loss and poaching) Est. remaining numbers: 500,000	Endangered (Habitat loss) Est. remaining numbers: 30,000
Elephants are members of the order "Proboscidea" named for the trunk or nose. Elephas maximus, the Asian elephant, and Loxodonta africana, the African elephant, are the only surviving species of the family Elephantidae. Although African and Asian elephants are two distinct species which belong to separate genera they are generally similar in size, appearance, physiology and social behavior. Back