Difference Between African and Asian Elephants
African vs Asian Elephants
African and Asian elephants are quite different from one another and they look similar only from a distance. The first difference that you note is that of the ears. The ears of the African elephant are much larger reaching up and over the neck looking quite a bit like the map of Africa. The Asian elephants’ ears are on the other hand are smaller and are shaped like the map of India.
The African elephant is much larger than the Asian one with the bull attaining a full height of 4 meters to the Asian counterpart’s 3.5 meters. Whereas the African elephant weighs between 4000 to 7500 kilograms, the Asian one weighs between 3000 to 6000 kilograms. While African elephants have fuller more rounded heads with a single dome, the Asian elephant has twin domes with an indent in the middle. The lower lips happen to be round and tapered in Asian elephants and short and round in the African ones.
That apart the skin of the African elephant has more wrinkles than the Asian one. Moreover the African elephant also has 21 ribs as compared to the Asian elephant’s twenty. While all African elephants have tusks, only the male Asian elephants have tusks.
When it comes to trunks there are some major differences over there as well. An African elephant’s trunk is more ringed than and not as hard as the Asian elephants. The African elephant’s trunk consists of two fingers as opposed to the Asian elephant’s one. In so far as the diets of the two beasts are concerned it comprises mainly of leaves in the case of African elephants and grass in the case of Asian elephants.
The highest point of an African elephant is on the shoulder, while that of the Asian one is on the back. An African elephant’s back is concave while that of the Asian one is convex or straight. The belly of an African elephant is positioned diagonally downward towards the belly whereas in the case of an Asian elephant it is almost straight or sagging in the middle.
The African elephants have tusks among both the males and females of the species, whereas it is only the male of the Asian species that sports tusks.
1.The ears of the African elephant are much larger than the Asian one.
2.An African elephant is larger at 4 meters for the male bull against the Asian male bull elephant’s 3.5 meters.
3.An African elephant is heavier as it can weigh up to 7500 kilograms to an Asian elephant’s 6000 kilograms.
4.An African elephant has 21 ribs as against an Asian elephant’s 20.
5.Another distinguishing feature is the highest point which shoulder in African elephants and on the back for Asian elephants.
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