Places to see the African Elephant in South Africa and Southern Africa

Places to see the African Elephant in South Africa and Southern Africa:

African elephants spend about two thirds of their time feeding, and consume about eight percent of their body weight daily - generally about 200 - 250 kg of food each day, depending on their body weight. They often uproot small trees and severely damage large ones in their quest for food, thereby modifying their habitat.

Their wide distribution is possible due to their amazing versatility and variety of diet: elephants can feed on everything from roots to treetops - they can dig out bulbs and roots, reach up and break off branches of trees, or simply knock the tree down to get at tasty titbits: their diet varies from tiny herbs to strips of bark: they also eat grass, seed pods, wild fruit, and flowers: in fact anywhere from 100 to 500 plant species.

This versatility is largely possible due to the trunk, which results in an ability to exploit a variety of food sources that is unique among land animals.

Apart from food, elephants require large amounts of water, will cover vast distances in order to reach it, and will drink at least once a day, and sometimes several times a day. They also require salt and other minerals, and often dig for minerals in rich soil: they also prefer water that contains large amounts of minerals, and will drink selectively from different waterholes.

Elephants deposit large amounts of dung each day, which plays a major role in the recycling of nutrients. Many seeds not only get dispersed by elephants, but have a greater chance of successful germination after passing through an elephant gut.

The "Big 5": • Lion • Leopard • Elephant • Buffalo • Rhino •

Best places to see the African Elephant in Southern Africa:

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Elephant are found in many of the National Parks and private nature reserves throughout africa. Click on the links below to find places that have elephant.

NATIONAL PARKS