Squads proboscis and primates. Characteristic features of the proboscis squad Anthropoids are listed in the Red Book

Distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. However, the range that was continuous in the past is now broken. The African elephant is not found in most of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Ethiopia; completely disappeared from Northern Somalia. From Sudan to the west, the range boundary now approximately coincides with 12 ° N. sh., however, separate isolated parts of the range remain to the north (near Lake Chad, in Mali, Mauritania).

The body length reaches 6-7.5 m, the height at the shoulders (the highest point of the body) is 2.4-3.5 m. The average body weight for females is 2.8 tons, for males - 5 tons.

They inhabit a wide variety of landscapes (with the exception of tropical forests and deserts) up to 3660 m above sea level, occasionally found up to 4570 m above sea level. The main requirement for the habitat is the availability of food, the presence of shade and the presence of fresh water, from which elephants, however, can move more than 80 km.

They are active both during the day and at night, but activity decreases during the hottest hours. In areas with high activity of people, they switch to a nocturnal lifestyle. According to observations during the day, the African elephant spends 13% of the time on rest, 74% on feeding, 11% on transitions and 2% on other activities. Peak feeding occurs in the morning hours.

Elephants do not see well (at a distance of no more than 20 m), but they have an excellent sense of smell and hearing. For communication, a large number of visual signals and touches are used, as well as a wide repertoire of vocalizations, including loud trumpet sounds known to everyone. Studies have shown that elephant calls contain infrasonic components (14-35 Hz), making them audible over long distances (up to 10 km). In general, the cognitive and perceptual abilities of African elephants have been less studied than those of Asian elephants.

Despite their massive build, elephants are remarkably agile. They swim well or move along the bottom of the reservoir, putting only their trunk above the water. Usually they move at a speed of 2-6 km / h, but for a short time they can reach speeds of up to 35-40 km / h. Elephants sleep standing up, gathered together in a dense group, only the cubs lie on their side on the ground. Sleep lasts about 40 minutes.

They feed on plant food: leaves, branches, shoots, bark and roots of trees and shrubs, the proportions of feed depend on the habitat and season. During the wet season, herbaceous plants such as papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) and cattail (Typha augustifolia) make up the bulk of the diet. Old elephants feed mainly on swamp vegetation, which is less nutritious but softer, for this reason, fallen elephants are often found in swamps (hence the legend of the “elephant graveyards” where they come to die). Elephants need a daily watering place and in the dry season they sometimes dig holes in the beds of dry rivers, where water from aquifers collects. These watering holes are used not only by elephants, but also by other animals, including buffaloes and rhinos. On a day, one elephant consumes from 100 to 300 kg of food (5% of its own weight) and drinks 100-220 liters of water. African elephants also need salt, which is either found on licks or dug out of the ground.

In search of food and water, the African elephant is able to travel up to 500 km, on average, it covers a distance of about 12 km per day. In the past, the length of the seasonal migrations of African elephants reached 300 km. Almost all elephant migrations followed a general pattern: at the beginning of the rainy season - from permanent reservoirs, in the dry season - back. Off-season, shorter migrations took place between sources of water and food. The animals adhered to the usual routes, leaving behind well-marked trampled paths. Currently, the migration of African elephants is limited due to increased human activity, as well as the concentration of the main population of elephants in protected areas.

Elephants lead a nomadic lifestyle. They travel in stable groups, which in the past reached 400 animals. In a herd, there are usually 9-12 animals belonging to the same family: an old female (matriarch), her offspring and older daughters with immature cubs. The female matriarch determines the direction of the roam, decides when the herd will feed, rest or bathe. She leads the herd until the age of 50-60, after which she is inherited by the oldest female. Sometimes the family also includes one of the matriarch's sisters and her offspring. Males are usually expelled or leave the herd when they reach sexual maturity (9-15 years), after which they lead a solitary lifestyle, sometimes gathering in temporary herds. Males contact matriarchal families only during estrus in one of the females. When a family gets too big, it splits up. Herds can temporarily unite (Serengeti, Tanzania), observations have shown that some families of African elephants are in special relationships and spend significant time together. In general, elephants are sociable and do not avoid each other.

Studies in the Lake Manyara National Park (Tanzania) have shown that individual families of elephants stick to certain areas, not wandering throughout the park. Not being territorial, elephants, however, keep their feeding areas, which in favorable conditions vary from 15 to 50 km 2. The ranges of single males are much larger, up to 1500 km2. The largest areas were recorded for elephants from Kaokoveld (Namibia), where the annual rainfall is only 320 mm: 5800-8700 km 2.

Communication within the herd takes many forms, including vocalizations, touch, and a variety of postures. Collective behavior includes joint care of offspring and protection from predators. Family members are extremely attached to each other. So, when elephants from the same family unite after several days of separation, their meeting is accompanied by a welcoming ceremony, which sometimes lasts up to 10 minutes. At the same time, the elephants show great excitement: they make loud cries, twist their trunks and cross their tusks, flap their ears, urinate, etc. If the parting was short, the ceremony is reduced to flapping ears, trumpet "greetings" and touching the trunk. There are cases when elephants took away wounded relatives from danger, supporting them on the sides. Elephants, apparently, have some idea of ​​​​death - judging by their behavior, they, unlike other animals, recognize the corpses and skeletons of their relatives.

Fights in the herd are rare. Elephants demonstrate dominance and aggression by raising their heads and trunks, straightening their ears, digging the ground with their feet, shaking their heads and making demonstrative attacks on the enemy. Fights are usually limited to pushing and crossing tusks, only during fights for a female can males inflict serious and fatal wounds on each other with tusks. The subordinate position is indicated by the lowered head and ears.

Breeding is not associated with a specific season, but most calving occurs in the middle of the rainy season. In dry periods or in crowded living conditions, sexual activity decreases, females do not ovulate. Males wander in search of females in estrus, staying with them for no more than a few weeks. Estrus in elephants lasts about 48 hours, at which time she calls the males with cries. Usually, before mating, the male and female are removed from the herd for a while.

Pregnancy in elephants is the longest among mammals - 20-22 months. The female brings 1 developed cub, twins are rare (only 1-2% of births). A newborn baby elephant weighs 90-120 kg with a shoulder height of about 1 m, his trunk is short, there are no tusks. Births take place at a distance from the rest of the herd, often the giving birth female is accompanied by a "midwife". 15-30 minutes after birth, the baby elephant rises to its feet and can follow its mother. Until the age of 4, he needs maternal care, he is also looked after by young immature females 2-11 years old, who are thus preparing for the role of mother.

Young females remain in their herd for life, males leave it when they reach sexual maturity, which usually occurs between 10 and 12 years. Elephants show the greatest diversity in the timing of sexual maturity among mammals, with the minimum recorded age in females being 7 years. Under adverse conditions, females reach sexual maturity at 18-19 or even 22 years old. Peak fertility also varies greatly depending on the habitat: from the age of 18-19 years (Luangwa river valley, Zambia) to 31-35 years (Northern Bunyoro, Uganda). Elephants remain fertile up to 55-60 years, bringing 1-9 cubs during their life. In males, puberty occurs at 10-12 years, however, due to competition with older males, they begin to mate only at the age of 25-30 years, reaching a reproductive peak by 40-50 years.

African elephants live up to 60-70 years, continuing to grow slowly throughout their lives. In captivity, their age reached 80 years.

forest african elephant

African Forest Elephant

(Loxodonta cyclotis)

Distributed in Central Africa. As its name suggests, the African forest elephant lives in the rainforests of the Congo Basin and plays an important role in dispersing the seeds of many plants.

The height of the forest elephant at the withers is on average 2.4 m. Thus, it is much smaller than the elephants living in the savannah. Also, the forest elephant has a thicker brown hairline and rounded ears. This elephant has more powerful and longer tusks, which helps him to wade through the dense thickets of the forest.

Forest elephants keep in small family groups of 2 to 8 individuals, consisting mainly of several females and their offspring. Males are expelled from the group when they reach maturity. Males lead a solitary lifestyle and only during the breeding season are united in groups with other elephants. Forest elephants do not have a pronounced breeding season, but the peak falls on the rainy seasons. Pregnancy lasts about 22 months, after which 1 cub is born, twins are extremely rare.

Asian elephant

Asian Elephant

(Elephas maximus)

Currently, the range of Indian elephants is highly fragmented; in the wild, they are found in the countries of the Indo-Malay biogeographic region: South and Northeast India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Southwest China, Malaysia (mainland and on the island of Borneo), Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra) and in Brunei.

The body length of an Indian elephant is 5.5-6.4 m, the tail is 1.2-1.5 m. They reach a weight of 5.4 tons with a height of 2.5-3.5 meters. Females are smaller than males, weighing an average of 2.7 tons.

The Indian elephant is mainly a forest dweller. It prefers light tropical and subtropical broadleaf forests with dense undergrowth of shrubs and especially bamboo. Previously, in the cool season, elephants went out into the steppes, but now this has become possible only in reserves, since outside of them the steppe has almost everywhere been turned into agricultural land. In summer, along the wooded slopes, elephants rise quite high into the mountains, meeting in the Himalayas at the border of eternal snows, at an altitude of up to 3600 m. Elephants move quite easily through swampy areas and climb mountains.

Like other large mammals, elephants tolerate cold better than heat. They spend the hottest part of the day in the shade, constantly waving their ears to cool the body and improve heat transfer. They love to take baths, dousing themselves with water and rolling around in mud and dust; these precautions protect the skin of elephants from drying out, sunburn and insect bites. For their size, elephants are remarkably agile and agile; they have a wonderful sense of balance. If necessary, they check the reliability and hardness of the soil under their feet with the blows of the trunk, however, thanks to the structure of the foot, they are able to move even in wetlands. An alarmed elephant can reach speeds of up to 48 km / h; at the same time, on the run, the elephant raises its tail, signaling to its relatives about the danger. Elephants are also good at swimming. Most of the time the elephant spends in search of food, but the elephant needs at least 4 hours a day to sleep. At the same time, they do not fall on the ground; the exceptions are sick elephants and young animals.

Elephants are distinguished by a keen sense of smell, hearing and touch, but their eyesight is poor - they see poorly at a distance of more than 10 m, somewhat better in shaded places. The hearing of elephants, because of the huge ears that serve as amplifiers, is far superior to that of humans. Elephants use numerous sounds, postures, and trunk gestures to communicate. Thus, a long trumpet call calls the herd; a short sharp, trumpet sound means fear; powerful blows with a trunk on the ground mean irritation and rage. Elephants have an extensive repertoire of calls, roars, grunts, squeals, etc., which signal danger, stress, aggression and greet each other.

Indian elephants are strict vegetarians and spend up to 20 hours a day foraging and feeding. Only during the hottest hours of the day do elephants shelter in the shade to avoid overheating. The amount of food they eat daily is from 150 to 300 kg of various vegetation, or 6-8% of the elephant's body weight. Elephants eat mainly grass; they also in some quantities eat the bark, roots and leaves of various plants, as well as flowers and fruits. Elephants pluck long grass, leaves and shoots with their flexible trunk; if the grass is short, they first loosen and dig up the soil with kicks. The bark from large branches is scraped off with molars, holding the branch with the trunk. Elephants willingly devastate agricultural crops, usually rice, banana and sugarcane plantations, thus being the largest pests in agriculture in terms of size.

The digestive system of the Indian elephant is quite simple; a capacious cylindrical stomach allows you to "store" food while it is fermented in the intestines by symbiont bacteria. The total length of the small and large intestines in the Indian elephant reaches 35 m. The digestion process takes about 24 hours; at the same time, only 44-45% of food is actually absorbed. An elephant needs at least 70-90 (up to 200) liters of water per day, so they never move away from water sources. Like African elephants, they often dig in the ground in search of salt.

Due to the large amount of food they eat, elephants rarely feed in the same place for more than 2-3 days in a row. They are not territorial, but keep to their feeding areas, which reach 15 km 2 for males and 30 km 2 for gregarious females, increasing in size during the dry season.

Indian elephants are social animals. Females always form family groups consisting of a matriarch (the most experienced female), her daughters, sisters and cubs, including immature males. Sometimes there is one old male near the herd. In the 19th century herds of elephants, as a rule, consisted of 30-50 individuals, although there were also herds of up to 100 or more heads. Currently, herds consist mainly of 2-10 females and their offspring. The herd may temporarily break up into smaller groups that maintain contact through distinctive vocalizations containing low frequency components. Small groups (less than 3 adult females) have been found to be more stable than large ones. Several small herds can form a so-called. clan.

Males usually lead a solitary lifestyle; only young males who have not reached sexual maturity form temporary groups not associated with female groups. Adult males approach the herd only when one of the females is in oestrus. At the same time, they arrange marriage duels; most of the time, however, males are quite tolerant of each other, and their feeding territories often overlap. By the age of 15-20, males usually reach sexual maturity, after which they annually enter a state known as must (in Urdu, "drunk"). This period is characterized by very high testosterone levels and, as a result, aggressive behavior. When must from a special skin gland located between the ear and the eye, an odorous black secret containing pheromones is released. Males even excrete copious amounts of urine. In this state, they are very excited, dangerous and can even attack a person. Must lasts up to 60 days; all this time, males practically stop feeding and wander in search of females in heat. It is curious that in African elephants the must is less pronounced and first occurs at a later age (from the age of 25).

Breeding can occur at any time of the year regardless of the season. Females are in oestrus for only 2-4 days; A full estrous cycle lasts about 4 months. Males join the herd after mating matches - as a result, only mature dominant males are allowed to breed. Fights sometimes lead to serious injuries of opponents and even death. The male winner drives away other males and stays with the female for about 3 weeks. In the absence of females, young male elephants often exhibit homosexual behavior.

Elephant pregnancy is the longest among mammals; it lasts from 18 to 21.5 months, although the fetus is fully developed by 19 months and then only increases in size. The female brings 1 (rarely 2) cub weighing about 90-100 kg and height (at the shoulders) about 1 m. It has tusks about 5 cm long, which fall out by 2 years, when milk teeth change to adults. During calving, the rest of the females surround the mother, forming a protective circle. Shortly after giving birth, the female defecates so that the cub remembers the smell of her feces. The baby elephant rises to its feet 2 hours after birth and immediately begins to suck milk; the female, with the help of her trunk, “sprays” dust and earth on it, drying the skin and masking its smell from large predators. After a few days, the cub is already able to follow the herd, holding on to the tail of its mother or older sister with its trunk. All lactating females in the herd are engaged in feeding the baby elephant. Milk feeding continues up to 18-24 months, although the baby elephant begins to eat plant food after 6-7 months. Elephants also eat their mother's feces - with their help, not only undigested nutrients are transferred to them, but also symbiotic bacteria that help absorb cellulose. Mothers continue to take care of their offspring for several more years. Young elephants begin to separate from the family group by the age of 6-7 years and are finally expelled by 12-13 years.

In nature, Indian elephants live up to 60-70 years, in captivity - up to 80 years. Adult elephants have no natural enemies; elephants can be attacked by tigers.

Squad IX Proboscidea The proboscidea living today represent the last representatives of the once numerous class of mammals, to which belonged, among other things, the mammoths found in the ice of Siberia. At present, two or more of the entire group survived.