{"url":"https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-bush-elephant","data_as_of":"2026-11-11T10:46:03.145Z","schema_version":"0.1.0-fixture","summary":"The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) is a species in the family Elephantidae, order Proboscidea. It has been recorded in 47 countries, most often in South Africa, Benin and Kenya. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.","taxon":{"id":2435350,"slug":"african-bush-elephant","rank":"species","scientific_name":"Loxodonta africana","authorship":"(Blumenbach, 1797)","preferred_common_name":"African bush elephant","common_names":[{"name":"African bush elephant","lang":"en"},{"name":"éléphant de savane d'Afrique","lang":"fr"},{"name":"Afrikanischer Buschelefant","lang":"de"},{"name":"Elefante-da-savana","lang":"pt"},{"name":"Savanneolifant","lang":"nl"},{"name":"Savannelefant","lang":"sv"},{"name":"アフリカゾウ","lang":"ja"},{"name":"非洲象","lang":"zh"},{"name":"فيل الأدغال الإفريقي","lang":"ar"},{"name":"अफ़्रीकी सवाना हाथी","lang":"hi"},{"name":"Саванный слон","lang":"ru"},{"name":"African elephant","lang":"en"},{"name":"Elefante Africano","lang":"es"},{"name":"Éléphant Africain","lang":"fr"},{"name":"Éléphant d'Afrique","lang":"fr"},{"name":"Afrikanischer Elefant","lang":"de"},{"name":"elefante africano","lang":"it"}],"synonyms":["Elephas africana","Elephas capensis"],"lineage":[{"id":1,"rank":"kingdom","name":"Animalia"},{"id":44,"rank":"phylum","name":"Chordata"},{"id":359,"rank":"class","name":"Mammalia"},{"id":799,"rank":"order","name":"Proboscidea"},{"id":9427,"rank":"family","name":"Elephantidae"},{"id":2435348,"rank":"genus","name":"Loxodonta"}],"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":"Chordata","class":"Mammalia","order":"Proboscidea","family":"Elephantidae","genus":"Loxodonta","parent_id":2435348,"is_extinct":false,"body_mass_g":null,"body_mass_g_min":null,"body_mass_g_max":null,"body_length_cm":null,"body_length_cm_min":null,"body_length_cm_max":null,"height_cm":null,"height_cm_min":null,"height_cm_max":null,"wingspan_cm":null,"wingspan_cm_min":null,"wingspan_cm_max":null,"lifespan_year":null,"lifespan_year_min":null,"lifespan_year_max":null,"gestation_day":669.6,"gestation_day_min":669.625,"gestation_day_max":669.625,"incubation_day":null,"incubation_day_min":null,"incubation_day_max":null,"litter_size":null,"litter_size_min":null,"litter_size_max":null,"habitat":[],"main_food":[],"size_class":null,"iucn_category":"EN","countries":["ZA","BJ","KE","ZM","UG","TZ","NA","BW","ZW","CD","MW","CM","LR","CI","SD","CN","GH","GQ","BF","MZ","DE","RW","AO","ET","GA","US","IT","PT","TD","SZ","CF","CG","SL","PL","HU","NE","NG","NL","SS","DK","GN","SE","TN","EG","GB","ML","SO"],"primary_image":{"url":"https://creaturedata.com/media/16.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"creator":"Giles Laurent","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","licence_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0","source_url":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:178_Male_African_bush_elephant_in_Etosha_National_Park_Photo_by_Giles_Laurent.jpg"},"completeness_score":81,"popularity_score":72,"has_image":true,"has_audio":false,"has_description":true,"groups":["mammals"]},"facts":{"body_mass_g":null,"body_mass_g_min":null,"body_mass_g_max":null,"body_length_cm":null,"body_length_cm_min":null,"body_length_cm_max":null,"height_cm":null,"height_cm_min":null,"height_cm_max":null,"wingspan_cm":null,"wingspan_cm_min":null,"wingspan_cm_max":null,"lifespan_year":null,"lifespan_year_min":null,"lifespan_year_max":null,"gestation_day":669.6,"gestation_day_min":669.625,"gestation_day_max":669.625,"incubation_day":null,"incubation_day_min":null,"incubation_day_max":null,"litter_size":null,"litter_size_min":null,"litter_size_max":null,"habitat":[],"main_food":[],"size_class":null},"trait_values":[{"trait_key":"gestation","value_num":669.625,"value_text":null,"unit":"day","orig_value":"22","orig_unit":"month","sex":null,"life_stage":null,"measure":null,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11","source_record_id":"Q36557#P3063","source_url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36557#P3063","citation":"Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.","licence":"CC0 1.0","confidence":null}],"conservation":[{"scheme":"IUCN","category":"EN","trend":null,"scope":"global","as_of":null,"url":"https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=Loxodonta%20africana&searchType=species","source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11","source_record_id":"Q36557#P141","source_url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36557#P141"}],"common_names":[{"name":"African bush elephant","lang":"en","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"éléphant de savane d'Afrique","lang":"fr","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Afrikanischer Buschelefant","lang":"de","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Elefante-da-savana","lang":"pt","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Savanneolifant","lang":"nl","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Savannelefant","lang":"sv","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"アフリカゾウ","lang":"ja","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"非洲象","lang":"zh","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"فيل الأدغال الإفريقي","lang":"ar","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"अफ़्रीकी सवाना हाथी","lang":"hi","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Саванный слон","lang":"ru","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"African elephant","lang":"en","region":null,"is_preferred":false,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Elefante Africano","lang":"es","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Éléphant Africain","lang":"fr","region":null,"is_preferred":false,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Éléphant d'Afrique","lang":"fr","region":null,"is_preferred":false,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Afrikanischer Elefant","lang":"de","region":null,"is_preferred":false,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"},{"name":"elefante africano","lang":"it","region":null,"is_preferred":true,"source_release_id":"wikidata@2026-11-11"}],"synonyms":[{"name":"Elephas africana","authorship":"Blumenbach, 1797","status":"synonym","source_release_id":"gbif@2026-11-11"},{"name":"Elephas capensis","authorship":"Cuvier, 1798","status":"synonym","source_release_id":"gbif@2026-11-11"}],"countries":[{"kind":"country","code":"ZA","name":"South Africa","slug":"south-africa","establishment":null,"record_count":1748,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"BJ","name":"Benin","slug":"benin","establishment":null,"record_count":1498,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"KE","name":"Kenya","slug":"kenya","establishment":null,"record_count":1480,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"ZM","name":"Zambia","slug":"zambia","establishment":null,"record_count":1231,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"UG","name":"Uganda","slug":"uganda","establishment":null,"record_count":609,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"TZ","name":"Tanzania","slug":"tanzania","establishment":null,"record_count":591,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"NA","name":"Namibia","slug":"namibia","establishment":null,"record_count":428,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"BW","name":"Botswana","slug":"botswana","establishment":null,"record_count":388,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"ZW","name":"Zimbabwe","slug":"zimbabwe","establishment":null,"record_count":217,"source_release_id":"gbif_occ@2026-11-11"},{"kind":"country","code":"CD","name":"Congo - 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It is characterised by its long prehensile trunk with two finger-like processes; a concave back; large ears which help reduce body heat; and sturdy tusks that are noticeably curved. Its skin is grey with scanty hairs, and bending cracks which support thermoregulation by retaining water.\nThe African bush elephant inhabits a variety of habitats such as forests, grasslands, woodlands, wetlands and agricultural land. It is a mixed herbivore feeding mostly on grasses, creepers, herbs, leaves, and bark. The average adult consumes about 150 kg (330 lb) of vegetation and 230 L (51 imp gal; 61 US gal) of water each day. It is a social animal that lives in herds of cows and their offspring. Adult bulls usually live alone or in small bachelor groups. During the mating season, males undergo musth, a period of high testosterone levels and heightened aggression. The menstrual cycle of cows lasts three to four months, and gestation around 22 months, the longest of any mammal.\nSince 2021, the African bush elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is threatened foremost by habitat destruction, and in parts of its range also by poaching for meat and ivory. Between 2003 and 2015, the illegal killing of 14,606 African bush elephants was reported by rangers across 29 range countries. Chad is a major transit country for smuggling of ivory in West Africa, though this trend was curtailed by raising penalties for poaching and improving law enforcement. Poaching of the elephant in the 1970–1980s were considered the largest killings in history. In human culture, elephants have been extensively featured in literature, folklore and media, and are most valued for their large tusks.","source_id":"enwiki","source_url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_bush_elephant","revision":1384293884,"licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","licence_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","licence_tier":"amber","share_alike":true,"display_ok":true,"attribution":"Wikipedia contributors, “African bush elephant”","retrieved_at":"2026-11-11"}],"external_ids":[{"source":"gbif","label":"GBIF","external_id":"2435350","url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/2435350","match_type":"exact_accepted","confidence":1},{"source":"wikidata","label":"Wikidata","external_id":"Q36557","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36557","match_type":"exact_accepted","confidence":1},{"source":"enwiki","label":"Wikipedia","external_id":"African bush elephant","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_bush_elephant","match_type":"external_id","confidence":1},{"source":"ncbi","label":"NCBI Taxonomy","external_id":"9785","url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=9785","match_type":"external_id","confidence":1},{"source":"itis","label":"ITIS","external_id":"584939","url":"https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584939","match_type":"external_id","confidence":1},{"source":"eol","label":"Encyclopedia of Life","external_id":"289808","url":"https://eol.org/pages/289808","match_type":"external_id","confidence":1},{"source":"inaturalist","label":"iNaturalist","external_id":"43694","url":"https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43694","match_type":"external_id","confidence":1}],"sources":[{"source_id":"gbif","name":"GBIF Backbone Taxonomy","url":"https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c","licence":"CC BY 4.0","licence_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","citation":"GBIF Secretariat. 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